While the inevitable comparison between the Ford GT, the Dodge Viper and the Chevrolet Corvette is unavoidable (heck, we even did our own), there are several areas where the former vastly breaks from the latter two. One of the most obvious differences is in the area of shift quality. The Ford GT uses a Ricardo six-speed transmission, and to put it succintly -- this transmission rocks! It offers extremely smooth and precise shifting between gears, and despite the 550 horsepower coursing through it the tranny doesn't have an "industrial" feel...
It's one of the most sublime shifters I've experienced in any car, let alone a supercar. Clutch pressure is also relatively light, meaning if you can handle a Mustang GT's clutch you can handle the Ford GT's third pedal. In contrast, the Corvette and Viper use a Tremec T56 unit, and neither vehicle comes close to offering the GT's level of precision or sophistication. It's unfortunate that so few people will ever experience the GTs transmission. But with hardly any manuals being sold in the U.S., and with most high-end makers going to electro-hydraulic versions of the manual transmission, there likely won't be any "three-pedal" manuals around in a few years anyway. Between having a "real" manual and offering no driver aids beyond ABS the GT is a bit of an anachronism. Which is a big part of why I like it so much.
Karl Brauer, Editor in Chief, Edmunds.com @ 5,760 miles
mptlptr says:
06:55 PM, 09/25/06
I have a C6 and think that although the shifter is very precise, it takes a tad too much effort row the gears when just tooling around town. When driving agressively (3500+ RPMs) however, the shift effort seems to lessen.
Surprisingly, the 2001 Camaro SS I had with the factory Hurst shifter option felt much better than the C6 even though they are both T56s. Perhaps the C6's shifter feels worse because it is not "directly" attached to the transmission as the Camaro's is.
In your opinion, did the Viper's shifter feel better than the Vette's? I would assume it should since the Viper's transmission is not rear-mounted and thus the shifter is attached "directly" to it?
editor_karl says:
01:41 PM, 09/26/06
Great question. After I posted this I was thinking, "Maybe I should have talked about how, between the Viper and 'Vette I thinkt he Viper's feels better, and it's probably because of the rear-mounted transmission in the 'Vette." So yes, I suspect the additional linkage required to connect everything in the Corvette probably further aggravates the shifter's feel. That's too bad because I really like the idea of shifting the car's weight rearward, and it does pay dividends in the Corvette's handling department.