HOW HISTORY HAS REPEATED ITSELF

THE RICH HERITAGE THAT TODAY’S GT IS LIVING UP TO

Few cars carry with them a history and heritage as colourful as the Ford GT. But while the end product you see to the left is one of the prettiest on sale, the GT story’s beginnings are far from glamorous.

The GT owes its existence to a feud, one between Henry Ford II (right) and Enzo Ferrari that began in 1963 when Ferrari pulled out of lengthy negotiations to sell Ford his brand.

Angered by the large sum of money that had been wasted in the process, Henry Ford II enlisted the help of Lola to develop a racing car to beat the Italians at what they did best: the Le Mans 24 Hours. This gave birth to the GT and the rest, as they say, is history, although not one without a few bumps…

GT40 MK1

The first GT got off to a bad start. Three cars entered the 1964 Le Mans but all retired and Ferrari blitzed the race, locking out the podium. Ford’s poor result led to team boss John Wyer being sacked and replaced by Carroll Shelby. But Shelby’s first year in charge proved little better, because Ford failed to finish again in 1965.

GT40 MK2

The gloves were off for 1966, when Ford decided to ditch the Mk1’s 4.7-litre engine for a 7.0-litre V8 in the Mk2. The car’s technical upgrades made it a force to be reckoned with, so much so that it didn’t just beat Ferrari, it dominated, taking a one-two-three finish — a result Ford is yet to match.

GT40 DOMINATION

Ford wasn’t content with its one win and the GT, evolved through heavy in-house development that created two more versions, went on to win the next three Le Mans races, earning it a place alongside the all-time great racing models. In contrast, Ferrari never returned to its pre-ford Le Mans-winning ways again.

FORD GT

It was quite a while until the Ford GT name returned. In 2004, the firm launched the new GT, a mid-engined supercar that took heavy influence from the design of the original. Using a 550bhp 5.4-litre supercharged V8, it stayed true to the concept of the first racers, but Ford never used it to field a factory racing effort.

FORD’S LE MANS RETURN

Fifty years after its first win at Le Mans, Ford launched an all-new GT to compete again against its arch-rival, Ferrari, in the GTE class. It won on its return but only just, with a Ferrari 488 GTE close behind. History has repeated itself in the on-track rivalry and how, as with the original, the new road-going GT is essentially a by-product of the race programme.