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Will the Ford GT make 630 hp?

Ford intends to build just 250 examples of the next-generation GT annually when production begins next year. That's low even by supercar standards, but anyone with an Xbox One can drive the highly anticipated model right now in the demo for Forza Motorsport 6. The car is even on the cover of the retail version, but the game might be giving a glimpse at one of the upcoming vehicle's biggest secrets. According to the specs page, the GT makes 630 horsepower and 539 pound-feet of torque, according to Motor Authority. Weight is shown at 2,890 pounds with a front/rear distribution of 43/57. Until now, Ford's only comment on the GT's output from its 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 is "more than 600 horsepower," and that's certainly the case here. If accurate, the figures make the new model 130-hp more powerful than than the last GT, while also being hundreds of pounds lighter. Compared to modern competitors, the GT would be less powerful than a Ferrari 488 GTB and heavier than a McLaren 675LT. Unfortunately, Ford isn't commenting on the numbers in the game. "As we stated back at NAIAS, the Ford GT will produce more than 600 horsepower, and we can't speak to what Forza includes as specifications in their video game," company spokesperson Matt Leaver said to Autoblog via email. Don't think this is all doom and gloom, just yet. For one thing, more than numbers make a great car. Plus, the GT is still quite some way out from production, and spy shots still show it under development. Even if these figures are accurate at the time of Forza's development, that doesn't mean that they can't change in the meantime. Related Video:

American automakers fall in latest Fortune 500 rankings

Not that it means anything beyond bragging rights, but if you're fixated on the positions of domestic automakers on the annual Fortune 500 list, both General Motors and Ford are still on it but they've slipped a couple of notches. The list ranks American companies and they're ordered solely by revenue. GM, fifth last year, came in seventh, while Ford fell from ninth to tenth even though both companies saw small gains in annual revenue.
GM's $152.3 billion in revenue was less than a third of that of the first company on the list: Wal-Mart, which regained the title from Exxon Mobil. Berkshire Hathaway and Apple are the firms that moved GM down. Ford, displaced by energy company Valero, had $134.3 billion in revenue.
On a side note, profitability isn't a factor, but both GM and Ford were down in this year's list compared to last year's: GM declined from $9.2 billion to $6.2 billion, Ford fell from $20.2 billion to $5.6 billion. If profits were included, Exxon Mobil would probably still be king: although the energy company made almost $20 billion less in revenue than Wal-Mart's $469.2 billion, it posted $44.9 billion in profit compared to Wal-Mart's $17 billion.

Xcar gets the scoop on Ford's strategy for the GT at Le Mans in 2016

Ford's plan to return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2016 with the latest GT might have been one of the worst kept secrets in motorsports in recently memory. Even before the road car debuted at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show, rumors were flying about the Blue Oval's strategy. The wait for the official announcement just before this year's race was certainly a long one, but it was probably worthwhile just to see the competition version's spectacular looks. Xcar recently got the chance to interview Ford about the company's objectives for the new racer's development. Both the GT racing and street programs are meant as ways to advance cutting-edge technology and potentially let it trickle down to less-expensive models in the future. This is especially the case when it comes to finding ways to make carbon fiber cheaper and better. Of course, the supercar is also a showcase of what Ford can do competitively, and apparently there are patent-pending suspension parts the company isn't even talking about yet. Ford would love to score a class victory at Le Mans next year, and is pretty clear here and in its earlier promo video that it sees Ferrari as a major rival in the race. While that makes sense historically, the cross-town competitors at Corvette could be an even bigger challenger. That squad has a more recent legacy of success in the 24-hour challenge, including a victory in the GTE-Pro class this year. Related Video: