LIMITED EDITION FORD GT FEATURES ALAN MANN LIVERY

Ford has paid tribute to top 1960s racing team Alan Mann Racing’s contribution to its Le Mans 24 Hours success by releasing a limited edition heritage model of its GT supercar in the British outfit’s signature red and gold colours.

The late Alan Mann, who died aged 75 in 2012, built his team into a works representative of the Blue Oval in tin-tops and sportscars, winning two British Saloon Car Championship titles and the 1965 European Touring Car Challenge. In 1966 Mann built a lightweight experimental prototype, AM GT-1, that raced at the Sebring 12 Hours, but it wasn’t used at Le Mans as Ford’s bosses elected to race the heavier seven-litre V8powered Mk2 GT40 that swept the podium.

Ford GT programme manager Mike Severson said the new Alan Mann edition, that premiered at last week’s Chicago Auto Show, “honours the vehicles that helped lead Ford to its wins”. It is the seventh model in a production series that commemorates Ford’s quartet of Le Mans wins.

Alan Mann Racing closed its doors in 1969 but was revived in 2004 as a historics operation and is today led by Mann’s son Henry.