Ford Mustang Maxum GTP

The Ford Mustang Maxum GTP was an

Design

Maxum was founded by Zakspeed manager Alan Smith, former Zakspeed designer Paul Brown and British engineer Dennis Aldred with financial backing from cosmetic heir John Shearer. Their intention was to build a low-cost customer car that was a development of the principles employed in the design of the Zakspeed Ford Mustang GTP.^[1]

The resulting car was visually similar to the Zakspeed Probe but was an entirely new clean-sheet design. It had wider underfloor venturi tunnels for increased downforce and a longer wheelbase to accommodate a wider variety of engines.

The engine acted as a stressed structural member in contrast to the four-cylinder engine in the Probe, which had to be supported by a chassis cradle. Largely constructed in a run-down industrial unit in Bolton, England, the car was designed, built and delivered in exactly 100 days.^[1]

Racing history

Roush Performance debuted the car at the 1987 24 Hours of Daytona under the 'Roush Racing' banner, selecting Scott Pruett, Pete Halsmer and Tom Gloy to drive it. Unknown to Maxum, Roush had signed an exclusive deal with Bridgestone, meaning that the car was run on Bridgestone Potenza tyres rather than the Goodyear Eagles that the car had been designed for. This led to handling problems and a suspension failure after 120 laps consigned them to 58th place overall, and 14th in the IMSA GTP category.^[2]

After Daytona, the car was booked into the full scale wind tunnel at Lockheed Martin, ostensibly for aerodynamic development. John Dick, the Roush team manager, was in charge of the test and prioritised setup over aerodynamics, leaving the Maxum staff largely sidelined.^[1]

The next round of the

Pruett, who had driven the most races with the car, was classified 16th in the Driver's Championship, with 47 points, whilst Halsmer was 19th, with 41 points.[12]

Legal Action

The car's poor performance was a source of considerable irritation to Jack Roush and he refused to pay the balance of his contract with Maxum. During the lawsuit which followed, John Dick admitted that he had unilaterally made significant modifications to the car before it had ever turned a wheel. As this meant that the performance of the car 'as designed' had never been tested, the case was ultimately settled out of court. The two chassis were returned to Maxum and Roush paid a significant financial settlement.^[1]

After the cars arrived back in the UK, Denis Aldred discovered that the nose of the car that Halsmer had crashed at Miami had been poorly repaired. The suspension mounts were now located in holes that were too large, causing them to ‘wander’ during a race with the direct effect of making the handling unpredictable.^[1]

References