(WWJ) When I heard that Ford was auctioning off a unique 2006 Ford GT supercar, it made me wonder if that was the one they let me drive. A test drive that ended a lot faster than I expected.
“Jeff, you were rear-ended in what I hope to be a million dollar car,” said Ford archivist Ted Ryan.
Specifically, Ford is hoping to get between 800 thousand and a million dollars, when the special heritage edition GT is offered at the Barret Jackson Auction on October 18th. It’s the third of only 343 built by Ford. The company owned the first three produced, and decided this is the one that could be spared.
“We don’t need three,” said Ryan. “This is a significant one. It will be the lowest serial number to have ever been offered to the public.”
The vehicle is currently part of Ford’s Heritage Fleet, a curated collection of the company’s most historically significant vehicles. But, Ryan says they also need funding to support the fleet.
“Every penny that comes in will be used to restore vehicles. It will be used to get the vehicles driveable.”
This particular vehicle had been driven a total of 8435 miles over the past two decades. It had also been used in a number of Ford marketing events. In recent years, it had been displayed at the Woodward Dream Cruise.
I found out I was the first member of the media to be allowed to drive it. I almost became the last.
Ford dropped off the car at my home. The Carfax report on the accident shows it was the morning of November 11, 2025. It was on the drive to work, sitting at a red light on Orchard Lake Road, that I felt a thud.
I thought I’d stalled. Then I noticed a vehicle in my rear view mirror uncomfortably close. I got out. A teenage girl was on the phone, crying, “Mom, I’ve been in an accident.”
We pulled into a nearby parking lot, exchanged information. I tried to calm her. I figured with a vehicle like this, I needed a police report. A Farmington Hills officer arrived quickly. He stared at the car.
“Is this yours?”
“Even worse. It belongs to Ford. They were letting me drive it for the weekend.”
He took the report. The girl was still upset, still crying.
“She’s going to cry even more when I give her a ticket,” the officer told me.
The vehicle was driveable. The damage was minimal. I called Ford. Understandably, they wanted it back right away. They did bring me a nice Mustang in its place. My son was expecting me to pick him up from school that day in the GT. He’s probably the only 10 year old boy who was ever disappointed when his dad picked him up from school in a Mustang.
I’m very fortunate to have had only two fender benders in the more than 25 years that I’ve been test driving vehicles. I did read the Carfax report and found there was one other minor crash involving this vehicle. Somebody drove it off the road in 2006. I’m glad that mine didn’t involve anything that could be considered irresponsible driving.
This is the first vehicle in Ford’s Heritage Fleet that will be auctioned off. Ryan says there can be others. They have big plans for the fleet to be used in promotional and civic efforts, and need the funding to make that happen.
“Every penny of the funding we get from that will be used to support the fleet. To get repairs done and get the fleet up to tip top shape.”