An Almost Unused 2005 Ford GT Is For Sale... But You Shouldn't Want It

The fact that a near-mint 2005 Ford GT has appeared for sale isn’t especially unusual in itself, but this one has a back-story you might remember… because it belonged to Jeremy Clarkson. Twice.

Remember when he bought it, drove it to the Top Gear studios when it was just a day old and then had to abandon it because the immobiliser had failed? It’s that car; number 1664 of 2011 that were built, and otherwise known as ‘that f—king car’ to Clarkson’s ex-wife, who apparently got rather short-tempered after the alarm kept sounding repeatedly in the early hours of the morning. The car has now cropped up at the RM Sotheby’s Monterey sale in California.

After repeated, agonising problems with the car Clarkson asked Ford for his money back before buying the car back again later that year. It had been a long-held dream of his to own one so we can’t really blame him for wanting a second bite of the cherry, but he evidently didn’t get much use out of it even then – the left-hand drive car has just 60 miles on the clock.

With 550bhp and 500lb ft of torque, the supercharged 5.4-litre V8 monster was a real handful. Four-piston Brembo calipers took care of the stopping duties, which was a good thing because it would hit 205mph, sprinting from 0-60mph in 3.3 seconds.

Finished in Midnight Blue Clearcoat it was the 145th of 190 GTs built in that colour. These forged BBS wheels were optional, as were the popular racing stripes. All of its original paperwork is still in place including delivery documentation, production information and the original window sticker.

As for price, the estimate for the August 18 sale is a fairly chunky $275,000 up to $350,000. But, after all the trouble Clarkson had with this very Ford GT, even if you had the money you might be wise to spend it elsewhere. At least, you might if you ever actually want to drive it anywhere.