The Ford GT is an homage to the legendary GT40, the car that beat Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966. To commemorate that ’66 win, Ford launched a GT Heritage Edition, with a retro paint scheme. But the GT40 went on to win Le Mans three more times, so why stop there?
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Ford’s second Le Mans win, and Ford has another nostalgia-dipped GT to celebrate it. The Ford GT ’67 Heritage Edition wears the red and white color scheme of the 1967 Le Mans winning GT40 Mark IV, complete with “No. 1” roundel and a matching interior.
While the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans marked the culmination of a legendary feud between Henry Ford II and Enzo Ferrari (thanks to a deal to sell Ferrari to Ford that went south), the 1967 race was also memorable. It was the first true all-American win for Ford, featuring not only an American car, but also a pair of American drivers: Dan Gurney and A.J. Foyt. Gurney famously needed a hump added to the roof, known as the “Gurney bubble” to fit in the car.
In the new GT’s inaugural season, Ford was able to repeat its 1966 Le Mans success with a win in the GTE Pro class. But on the 50th anniversary of its 1967 win, the Blue Oval came up short. Ford was only able to manage second place in the GTE Pro class, while the win went to Aston Martin.
Ford said “limited quantities” of the GT ’67 Heritage Edition will be available for the 2018 model year only. The company has only confirmed that it will build 500 GTs, and it’s already filled orders for the first 250. People who got waitlisted during the first order period will get priority for the second batch.
Depending on how long GT production stretches, Ford may be able to milk more of its Le Mans heritage. In 1968, Pedro Rodriguez and Lucien Bianchi piloted a GT40 to Ford’s third Le Mans win. Their car wore the famous blue and orange Gulf racing colors. How would you like to see that replicated on a modern GT?
