Ford GT Orders Begin at a Cool Mid-$400,000; Hold Your Horses, Russia

If there’s about $450,000 burning a hole in your pocket, Ford wants you to get in line for the new GT.

The application process for the 2017 and 2018 model years of the carbon fiber supercar kicked off today, and along with it, a very selective customer screening process.

Ford will sell a limited number of GTs each year, produced by Canadian firm Multimatic, so it could be a long wait if you don’t make the cut this time around. Ford anticipates first deliveries will begin late this year, with applications ending on May 12. Oh, and Russia? You can’t order a Ford GT, unless you have a friend buy it for you in an eligible country — like, say, China.

North America, Europe, Asia and U.S. partners in the Middle East (Saudi Arabia, UAE) will be allowed to enter into the ordering process, but Latin America, Africa, the Indian subcontinent and Australia need not apply.

Sporting a lightweight teardrop body and more than 600 horsepower on tap from a mid-mounted, intercooled 3.5-liter Ecoboost engine, the GT has been a much-anticipated status symbol ever since Ford unveiled it in Detroit in 2015. Titillating prospective buyers even more is the fact that this historically inspired supercar will return to the 24 Hours of LeMans in June.

Ford estimates the price of the 2017 GT as being in the low- to mid-$400,000 range (USD), but money probably isn’t a huge consideration if you’re actually considering a GT purchase.

The cumbersome ordering process is meant to weed out the reputable buyers from the shifty hoi-poloi, with special consideration given to buyers of the first-generation (2004-2007) GT.

“Ford is conducting this application process to identify from a host of deserving candidates those individuals who will be invited to discuss a potential Ford GT purchase,” the automaker states on its application webpage. “Completing an application does not guarantee that you will have the opportunity to purchase a Ford GT.”

Flashback to junior high sports, right there.

[Image: Ford Motor Company]