Q&A: Ford SVT’s Superstar, Hau Thai-Tang
By: Paul and Anita Lienert
Date Posted 05-23-2005
Hau Thai-Tang is the new director of Ford’s advanced product creation and Special Vehicle Team (SVT). Previously, he was the vehicle engineering manager for the Mustang, leading the development of the 2001 Mustang GT, V6, Cobra and Bullitt GT. He was also the vehicle dynamics supervisor and vehicle engineering manager for the 2000 Lincoln LS. Thai-Tang, 38, was born in Vietnam and joined Ford as a college graduate trainee in 1988. He holds a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and a master’s degree from the University of Michigan.
Give us an update on the SVT strategy.
There’s been a perception of a near-death experience with no products, but the reality is most of our team was consumed with working on the Ford GT. Now that it has been launched and it’s been a big success for us, we’ve got the team focused on delivering more product faster. Since the GT is really not affordable for most folks coming into the Ford showroom, we want to have that trickle down in terms of the technology, the approach and some of the same parts. The Shelby GT500 is a good example. It’s got a 5.4-liter engine. It shares a cylinder head with the Ford GT. It shares piston rings with the Ford GT. It’s supercharged. It delivers near that level of performance, 450 horsepower and 450 pound-feet of torque.
What is the next SVT product?
The Shelby Cobra GT500. It comes out next year as a 2007 model, launched in summer 2006.
What is the price?
It’s going to be within range of the prior SVT Cobra, in the high $30,000s.
Will there be a convertible version?
Yes.
What is the volume?
It will be about 7,000 units per year.
Why did you resurrect the Shelby name for it?
We worked with Carroll Shelby on the Ford GT, then we did the Cobra concept car and the GR-1 concept car. This is the first full-blown production car to wear the Shelby badge. We think with the Boomers becoming empty nesters, inheriting all kinds of money, and getting out of family-oriented vehicles into more personal-reward vehicles, the Shelby name will really resonate with them.
What comes after that?
The Sport Trac Adrenalin. It’s important for us to have a performance car and a performance truck. The majority of SVT customers are young males with active lifestyles, with lots of friends and hobbies. This delivers performance with utility, a pickup bed and 6,000 pounds of towing capacity. But it’s also got a technology story, which is really something we want to do with SVT. All-wheel drive, six-speed automatic transmission — a first for SVT — roll stability control, yaw stability control.
What will it cost?
We haven’t finalized pricing. It will be priced where the prior-generation Lightning was — mid-30s. It will be a 2007 calendar-year launch, following the launch of the regular Sport Trac next summer. We are looking at the 5,000-unit range.
Does it imply there will be no F-Series SVT?
No. I wouldn’t read that into it. What we wanted to do is anticipate the performance derivatives while designing the base program. By doing that, we can get better products out faster. If the fundamentals aren’t in place, it’s harder for us to go in and just bolt on performance — if you don’t have the right weight distribution, the right suspension. With these two platforms, we were able to do that. The timing isn’t right for the full-size truck, but we realize it’s a different segment and a different product than the Lightning truck.
Didn’t you show a Lightning version of the new F-Series in Detroit a couple of years ago?
We did. With our internal resource constraints, we were doing the GT. To restart that project, by the time that [Lightning] got out into the marketplace, we would have had to switch it over to the next platform. I couldn’t make a business case out of it. So these two would give us a longer cycle run. Part of our challenge is to offset the investment that’s required to do these things. You talk about powertrains and bodies — if you don’t have a long enough cycle, you don’t recoup the investment.
So there will be a new Lightning at some point?
We recognize that’s a requirement.
When will we see it?
Too early to tell.
By the end of the decade?
I would hope so. But we don’t have any short plans.
With no product until this Cobra Shelby GT500, a skeptic might wonder what happened to SVT in the last couple of years.
One of the messages I hope to get out is [the difference between] taking a production car and bolting on strategic performance upgrades versus designing a new supercar from scratch. You take the team that was doing a Focus, a Lightning, a Cobra and task it with a new supercar in two years — I’m talking about the Ford GT. It wasn’t branded an SVT, so people think the SVT team was standing around twiddling its thumbs. But it has been fully engaged trying to launch that product.
Will SVT return to doing affordable vehicles like the Focus?
Affordability is a huge part of what SVT is all about. We have four cornerstones: performance, substance, degree of exclusivity and value. Value is relative. The Ford GT is a great value, even though it may not be affordable. The other products give you a little bit of the GT by sharing powertrain components and sharing the look at a more affordable price.
When will we see a $20,000 SVT product?
If we can make a business case, we will do it. But right now, we have only so many engineers available at our disposal. I have to go out and compete with everybody else in the company with great product ideas. The onus is on me to convince our internal venture capitalists to invest in my product. Right now, with the capacity I have, with my engineers, we felt it was important to get a Mustang-based product and a performance truck. They were the highest priorities.
Has there been any thought to developing SVT into a global brand, like Mercedes and AMG?
We haven’t had a lot of dialogue on that. The prior SVT Focus was close collaboration between us and Europe, but right now we are focusing on North America.
What about SVT working on sister brands like Land Rover and Jaguar?
I believe there are opportunities there. We talked before about recouping our investment, whether it’s powertrain, body kits or engineering. What I’d like to do within the Ford umbrella is establish SVT as the center of excellence for performance. Then, it will be only natural to hook up with other brands.
Is there a link with Jaguar’s R brand?
Not yet, but it’s something we are constantly studying. We bought these companies, and we believe the total enterprise has to be greater than the sum of the parts. If we’re not getting collaboration from Volvo and Mazda and Jaguar, it doesn’t make sense.
What would you say to people about SVT?
Rumors of our death are exaggerated.
