IN THIS COLUMN Trying to buy a Ford GT The magic of the GT Third time of trying

The third time I tried to buy one was last August. Ford asked me to auction off the first Ford GT at Pebble Beach. Which I did, and got a little more than half a million dollars for it. All I asked was that I would be allowed to buy a Ford GT at list price. And that's how I got the car.

I have serial number 12. The first ten have been built for the Ford family, the 11th went to the Pebble Beach guy, and I have the first customer car - red with white racing stripes, as you can see in the pictures.

After nearly 40 years of trying, Jay gets his GT

I was afraid that this was going to be another example of bad badge engineering (remember the awful Mustang 2?), but Ford have done a great job keeping the GT true to its heritage. I think the GT will be a watershed for Ford. I first drove it at Laguna Seca with Jackie Stewart. It was a hoot to drive. It's fast (0-60 in 3.43 seconds) and the brakes are incredible. It has the elements of a race car and the elements of a street car, all built into it.

I don't think I will buy a GT 40 now. I might if I raced. If you see the GT by itself it's the exact same car. If you see it next to the GT40 you realise there are subtle differences. The car is only 13 percent bigger than it was in 1966. If only I was 13 percent bigger than I was in 1966, I'd be thrilled!

Jay was talking to Jeremy Hart
Full 4Car Road Test of Ford GT