Cops from three different law enforcement agencies came down on a crew of 2017 Ford GT prototypes Tuesday morning for doing more than double the speed limit on Interstate 70 in Colorado. The test drivers will have to come back to serve court summonses according to Avon, Colo.’s police chief.
We’ve put in a call to Ford about the incident and we will update if they get back to us.
Chief of Police Greg Daly explained to me over the phone that the vehicles were stopped in Glenwood Canyon about 37 miles west of Avon, which is about 100 miles west of Denver. I initially thought the area was still in Avon PD’s jurisdiction, but the chief has clarified that the stop was initiated outside. It’s Chief Daly’s understanding that the incident “occurred in the Colorado State Patrol jurisdiction and we assisted the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office with their traffic stop on the reported violation. After the deputy initiated the traffic stop, the vehicles ultimately pulled over within our city limits,” he detailed via email.
The highway out there varies between wide-open straight shots with a 75 mph speed limit, slower spots with a 65 mph limit and tighter areas where the limit drops to 50 mph. Daly said that a state trooper saw the cars speeding in one of the latter areas but that the observing officer was “not in a position to initiate a stop” so he radioed the call out.
An Eagle County sheriff’s deputy was able to assist the state police in actually pulling over the three Ford GT development mules, which were cited for going 101 mph in a 50 mph zone, police records said.
“Anything over 20 mph over the limit is a summons,” the chief said, so the actual penalty will be decided by a judge.
Eagle County spokeswoman Amber Barrett also said that “a car clocked over 100 mph would definitely have a mandatory court date,” adding that out-of-state speeding offenders in the area are not an uncommon occurrence and would sometimes just be given a higher fine and more points on their license if they cannot attend court.
The Vail Daily got this incredible picture of an F-150 police truck lighting up the prototype super car which has to have Ford’s marketing department feeling very conflicted.
Jalopnik reader Kenneth G. sent us these pictures of the stop and says the GTs looked “super dirty from all the highway miles.” The vehicles were undoubtedly heading through Colorado for high altitude testing. It’s pretty common to see camouflaged prototypes in the area. They look like the same cars another reader spotted in nearby Monarch Pass.
Fighting the temptation to speed in a car like this, in a place like that, has got to be pretty tough. Especially if you’re “evaluating” the vehicle at its limits.
Reality is, driving a Ford GT at 100 mph on most of I-70 would be pretty safe. But doing double the speed limit in a company car is tough to justify. Didn’t Ford get enough high-speed data out of LeMans?
Correction: I initially identified Chief Daly as “Acting Chief” as he was listed on Avon PD’s website at press time, but he informed me he is in fact Chief Of Police.
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