Ford's GT, American supercar, to be built in Canada

Alisa Priddle and Chris Woodyard | Detroit Free Press and USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Ford GT appears at Chicago Auto Show – in silver The new Ford supercar came to this week’s Chicago show in a new color – and with some news about.

CHICAGO -- Ford has tapped a Canadian company to build the GT, an iconic American super car.

Because the car will have a carbon fiber body, Ford is turning to Multimatic Inc. which is based in Markham, Ontario, outside Toronto, to make the two-door, mid-engined car that will have at least 600 horsepower.

The announcement was made today at the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto.But word quickly spread to the Chicago Auto Show, where Ford was having another major showing of the car. Instead of the blue paint job for its debut last month in Detroit, this time it was decked out in silver.

When the GT made its surprise appearance at the North American International Auto Show, Executive Chairman Bill Ford said a limited number will be built for sale in the second half of 2016. Pricing has not been released.

Multimatic is a private contract manufacturer that has worked with Ford's performance division for 30 years, said Dianne Craig, president of Ford Canada.

Where a vehicle is made is no longer relevant, especially for a low-volume, niche vehicle, said analyst Dave Sullivan of AutoPacific.

"Ford was looking for a skill set and went where the expertise was," Sullivan said "If it were in Michigan, they would have done it in Michigan.But carbon fiber bodies are still an immature technology and there is not a lot of selection of available vendors."

Sullivan said Ford is also relying on a long-standing and trusted relationship with Multimatic.