'Delicious' Ford supercar wows Detroit

Ford attempted to land a knock-out blow to its rivals at the Detroit auto show in revealing a dazzling new GT supercar on Monday.

The glitzy presentation at a cavernous arena named after the boxer Joe Louis was an attempt to grab the headlines at the United States' premier auto show, where power and luxury have roared back to the fore.

Ford had given very little away in the lead-up to the first major international auto show of the year, but speculation had been rife that it had something special in mind.

And it did not disappoint, unveiling a GT for next year that immediately won glowing approval from car enthusiasts who flooded social media to proclaim what one called on Twitter 'delicious.'

The new GT, an update to the legendary sports car of yesteryear, boasts 600 horsepower and twin-turbocharged V6 eco-boost engines.

Bill Ford, the executive chairman, told a press conference that drew hundreds of journalists: 'Today is a special today... an opportunity to invent the future.'

Ford president and chief executive Mark Fields said the automaker was committed to 'making people's hearts pound.'

Ford had already been in the spotlight in Detroit, snapping up the award for best truck, while the Volkswagen Golf was named North American car of the year.