Ford
Oh my.
Timing is everything. Fifty years after Ford's legendary 1-2-3 finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race in 1966, the automaker is returning in style with a stunning update to its iconic Ford GT.
The company showed the car in France on Friday, as the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans prepares to kick off this weekend. The car will join the Le Mans field at next year's race, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the '66 win.
In a statement, Ford said:
The new Ford GT race car will run the full 2016 schedules of the FIA World Endurance Championship and TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, making its competition debut in January 2016 in the Rolex 24 At Daytona, Florida. The two Ford teams will be operated by Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS). Both series teams intend to compete with a four-car effort at Le Mans. Drivers will be announced later.
The all-new Ford GT serves as the pinnacle product of the new Ford Performance group, a division dedicated to providing innovation through performance.
Ford pulled the cover off the new GT at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this year. A collective gasp went through the auto world at the sight of the stunning, 600-horsepower supercar. It was written in Wow! and all but confirmed that Ford would mount a Le Mans campaign to celebrate its 1996 triumph, not to mention victories in 1967, '68, and '69.
If you want to get your pulse beating a bit faster, watch the video that Ford put together for the debut of the GT in all-American racing colors (fanboys will disappointed that Ford didn't outfit the car in famous "Gulf livery," but that might have been bit much). It's well worth it, if you're a racing fan or just love the idea of an American car maker taking part in the toughest race there is. The old GT watches a move of itself at Le Mans 50 years ago, before morphing into the new GT, tearing off in a blur through the streets of Paris, then roaring off to the Le Mans race circuit.
The old GT watches itself at Le Mans in the 1960s.
Screenshot via YouTube
The turns into the NEW GT!
Screenshot via YouTube
And takes to the streets of Paris!!!
Screenshot via YouTube
Enough said.
Screenshot via YouTube
The new GT will not run in the exotic LMP division, where wildly innovative prototypes dwell, but rather in the LM GTE Pro division. One of its rivals will probably be General Motors' Corvette.
Check out the video. Please, just check it out: