The Ford GT generates 100 GB of data... per hour
It has more lines of code than the Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jet.
In case you're wondering exactly how much coding and data-processing power it takes to run a modern supercar, the answer -- from Ford's GT, at least -- is a lot.
Ford on Thursday gave out a bit more information on the GT, specifically for the enthusiasts who also happen to be data nerds. More than 50 different sensors monitor all manner of vehicle performance and behavior, from wheel speeds to ambient humidity. Those sensors generate approximately 100 gigabytes of data per hour, the entire time the car is running.
It's hard to think about all that code when you're trying to maintain traction midlap.
What's in charge of reading all that data? There are more than two dozen computing systems onboard, which handle about 300 megabytes of data every single second. Everything runs like a top thanks to the 10 million lines of code in the Ford GT -- more than the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighter jet.
That might seem like a lot, but it really isn't -- it's a bit less than Windows NT 4.0 (circa 1996), and about the same as Google's Android. You'd need to multiply it by 200 to equal the number of lines of code that control all of Google's online services, a number estimated in 2015 at about 2 billion.
You're not going to be wondering about individual subroutines, though, as you're blasting down California mountain roads in a super coupe that's little more than a racecar with a license plate attached. According to how we felt after a quick spin in the GT, every single line of code was well worth it.
