Today most Hot Rods are looks first and everything else a distant second. In addition to performance that leaves something to be desired, most guys are forced to cobble together parts from a wide variety of companies and sources.
Ten years ago I swore we would never build a Hot Rod. The ones I had seen were beautiful machines whose driving manners and performance were a big disappointment. With FFR's focus on sports car design, racing, and CAD/CAM technology, the idea of building a traditional replica of a 1930s Ford was a conflict. The original frame, chassis, and suspension designs are not really capable of delivering performance, handling, and ride quality of a proper sportscar.
When Jim Schenck, director of R&D, came to me with his ideas for a next generation Hot Rod I was immediately impressed. Despite the fact that we were still in the thick of the GTM development project, the idea of making a high performance/comfortable daily driver Hot Rod was exciting.
Jims ideas weren't limited though to just designing a better Hot Rod... His excellent understanding of the Hot Rod market enabled him to see where there were other opportunities for a "leap-frog" product. Today, most guys get their parts from a variety of sources, say a frame here, a body there, front end, and so on. Jim pitched me on the idea of using the FFR product template on the Hot Rod. Not a donor car, but rather a "complete component car" with all-new parts. It made a lot of sense and it was hard not to get started right away.
As soon as the GTM was launched, Jim and his team began the design work on the
car you see here.
Is the world ready for a Factory Five performance version '33 Ford? Everyone who has seen the project up close seems to agree it is. We hope you like what we have done.
For me, this whole thing reminds me of 1995 and an industry that was introduced to a radical new concept Cobra replica by a small group of guys in New England.
Dave Smith
President
Factory Five Racing 2008
