The 2017 Ford GT is an incredible car. It’s sleek, modern, fast as hell, and by all accounts an absolute blast to drive.

Although it might be hard to actually get a new GT, it’s not impossible. While there are only so many released, if you have the cash, it’s only a matter of time (and determination) before you get your hands on one.

However, today we’re not going to be focusing (exclusively) on the GT. Since we know that most people who are in the market for a GT also enjoy other supercars, we decided that it would be fun (and helpful) to compare the new GT to its closest rivals.

And as far as an “apples to apples” comparison goes the best foreign supercar to compare the new GT to was the Lamborghini Aventador.

We tried to be (relatively) objective and unbiased in this post. Since this is American Supercars after all, we tend to love our All-American cars a bit more than the foreign competition. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t some great cars produced in Europe that can satisfy your need for speed.

In the rest of this post, we break down how the new Ford GT and The Lamborghini Aventador compare in the following categories:

 
1. Exterior looks / styling
2. Interior looks / comfort
3. The driving experience
4. Performance
5. Investment value

Category #1: Exterior Looks/Styling

Image source: Car and Driver

Image source: Car Magazine

The Lambo

Right away, you notice a difference looking at these two supercars. The Lambo is a lot thicker in the rear end, and looks like a hard charging bull that you don’t want to be in the way of. This is fitting, considering that the name of the Aventador refers to a famous 1118 pound bull who caused a stir in the bullfighting crowd in 1993.

The designers at Lamborghini cite spaceships and jet planes as inspirations for the Aventador, and it’s not hard to see why.

The GT

In contrast, the GT looks slicker, sleeker, smaller, and more modern. The car has a teardrop shaped carbon fiber cockpit designed for optimal airflow, (taking inspiration from Formula 1 and LeMans racers) with everything else designed around that. The car is entirely carbon fiber and aluminum, and includes fancy aerodynamic aides in the form of an air brake / wing that you can see deployed above.

Remember: the GT was designed to WIN Le Mans (which it did). So basically everything you see outside of the car is a beautiful marriage of form and function interweaving together in a rare way.

For example, while the rear wing looks cool, it also functions to give the GT incredible downforce, keeping it pinned to the track or road even at ridiculous speeds.

Category #2: Interior Looks/Comfort

The Lambo

Image source: Autocar

As far as interiors go, the Lamborghini is luxurious, but cramped. The red leather inside does make for a very good experience, especially if you’re showing off the car to a friend.

There’s not much rear visibility, and taller drivers might be a bit uncomfortable. However, that is somewhat the name of the game when it comes to supercars with their low rooflines and aerodynamic designs.

The GT

Image source: Motor Authority

While the Aventador is more leather and luxury oriented, the GT looks more like the interior of a fighter jet. Everything is black, in suede and carbon fiber, and nearly all of the buttons you’ll need while actively driving are located on the steering wheel itself (which is smart).

The steering wheel moves, because the seat doesn’t. While the two seats are close together, normal sized passengers shouldn’t have to worry about your elbow hitting them as you drive.

You also may notice attachment points for an FIA approved 6 point harness, and you may NOT notice the hidden, but FIA approved roll cage that is included with every 2017 Ford GT.

Category #3: The Driving Experience

The GT

The GT is a super high tech driver’s car. Whenever you’re in the cockpit, you feel like you’re in complete control. This is due to a combination of hydraulic steering, sticky tires, massive brakes, a responsive suspension, and the aerodynamic aides.

There are absolutely massive amounts of downforce on display here. Also, the GT’s anti-lag system makes you forget that the engine is turbocharged. It just feels like an extremely powerful naturally aspirated, torquey engine.

The Aventador

The Aventador is incredibly satisfying to drive. The car roars with the fury of a V-12, it turns heads as you pass by others, and it handles like a dream.

The main downside of the Aventador? The transmission. As Car and Driver says in their review:

“The Aventador’s Achilles’ heel remains the automated manual transmission that delivers painfully long pauses between the violent lurches that accompany every upshift…

The irony that it was a bad Ferrari clutch that prompted Ferruccio Lamborghini to start this very car company seems lost on those in Sant’Agata.”

Category #4: Performance

The Lambo

There’s no question that this Lambo is fast. It has 730 horses on call in a monstrous V-12. If this car goes by you, you know it – not just because it attracts eyeballs, but because the exhaust note lets everyone know the Aventador is there.

There’s also a rear-wheel steering system that lets the rear wheels adjust up to 3.0 degrees to align with the front tires once you start moving a bit more quickly (around 80 mph). The rear wheels can also go up to 1.5 degrees in the opposite direction of the front tires, which can be very useful both in parking lots and in hairpin turns.

Quick Specs:

• Zero to 60 mph: 2.9 sec
• Zero to 100 mph: 6.2 sec
• Standing ¼-mile: 10.7 sec
• Top speed: 217 mph

The GT

With a V-6 compared to the Ferrari’s V-12, the GT has a lot to prove.

Luckily, the V-6 in the GT wasn’t put in there for “economy” – a ridiculous goal in the realms of supercar stardom. No, the GT was put in there for one reason and one reason only: to help Ford win at Le Mans.

You see, Le Mans is a 24 hour endurance race. In any race, time matters, and each time that you have to make a pit stop to refuel, your competition is closing the lead. However, if your car can go further on each gallon than the competitions’ cars can, that gives you a substantial performance advantage.

This V6 is also unlike any other you’ve seen before, producing 647 horsepower and 550 pound feet of torque.

The GT has a selection of different drive modes available:

• Normal: designed for public roads
• Wet: designed for wet public roads
• Sport: designed for going FAST on public roads that are well maintained and smooth
• Track: designed for the track ONLY
• V-max: specifically designed for getting the highest speed possible in a straight line

 

As far as tested specs go, the GT and the Lambo are remarkably similar. However, the next time you do a drag race between the two cars, be sure to record it and send us the footage!

Quick Specs:

• Zero to 60 mph: 2.9 sec
• Zero to 100 mph: 5.7 sec
• Standing ¼-mile: 10.6 sec
• Top speed: 216 mph

Category #5: Investment Value

 
Investment value comes down to a few things:

• How much you initially invest in the car
• How much the car costs over time
• How much you can sell the car for

 

Let’s examine each of these categories.

Initial Investment

Starting at $424,845, the 2017 Aventador S represents a true apples to apples comparison car with the GT, at the price point of $453,750.

When you realize that options, trims, taxes, and extras can easily influence the cost of these cars by $20-30,000 or more, it becomes clear that these two cars essentially cost the same amount.

Cost of Ownership

As the new GTs are well, new, it’s hard to say how much they’ll cost to own and drive.

However, unlike the older GTs, these space age machines can’t just be serviced at any old Ford dealer. You have to take them to specific Ford dealers who have technicians who are specially trained to work on the new GTs. These facilities are required to have a “clean room” just for this purpose.

This is pretty similar to the situation with Lamborghini – there aren’t that many dealers around. For this reason, it’s pretty safe to assume that the cost of ownership between these two cars will be pretty similar.

How Much Can You Sell These For?

This final category is where we see some big differences. With rare exceptions, every Lamborghini you buy loses a TON of its value as soon as it rolls of the lot.

This is for a because it’s a lot sexier to buy a new Lambo than a used one, AND because new Lamborghinis come out on a regular basis.

With the GT, it’s likely that they’ll sell for quite a bit more than their MSRP. This is because there already aren’t enough GTs to go around, and simple logic says that when supply is greater than demand, prices go up.

Additionally, more GTs aren’t being made beyond 2018. So, the situation with the 2017 GT is likely to mirror that of the older generation, where the cars increase substantially in value over time.

As Car and Driver says, “…GTs now trade for more than $300,000 (they originally retailed for $139,995)”

Conclusion

 
The 2017 Ford GT brings a lot to the table. There aren’t many cars that can be credibly compared to it without turning red with embarrassment. However, the Lamborghini Aventador does a pretty good job at it.

In the final tally, here’s how things stack up.

Looks (interior and exterior): both cars are amazing. This is too subjective of a category to declare a winner.

Driving experience: the GT gets the edge here, due to the painful transmission of the Aventador.

Performance: both cars seem equally well matched.

Investment value: the GT is a clear winner here, as it’s resale value will be far above it’s MSRP, while the opposite is true for the Aventador.

Hopefully in this article you got a (relatively) unbiased look at how the Lamborghini Aventador and the GT stack up. If you’d like to discuss more about the new GT and how it compares to other cars, give us a call at 1-559-917-7165.

Christian Rose

Christian’s favorite car is a 1996 Dodge Viper GTS with Blue with White Stripes. He loves marketing and social media almost as much as sports cars. You can reach him at: [email protected]