At the 50-year mark, Ford pays homage to its racing heritage with a limited run of Ford GT supercars called the '66 Heritage Edition.
Ford has announced that it will be celebrating its racing history with a special edition of their already limited edition 2017 Ford GT supercar. It’s called the ’66 Heritage Edition which pays tribute to the year that began Ford’s fabled four-year victory streak at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the GT40.
The car is meant as an homage to GT40 Mark II that won Le Mans in 1966, piloted by Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon, even featuring race-number graphics to commemorate that win which locked in Ford’s journey into motorsport.
Mechanically, there hasn’t been any changes made to the 2017 GT, at least none that has been talked up by Ford themselves. Instead, the blue oval has focused their efforts on the edition’s interior and exterior. That means the 447kW 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 engine is still mounted amidships, sending power to the rear wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.
Starting with the outside, the new Shadow Black paint finish (metallic or matte, owner’s call) is contrasted with silver stripes and bits intentionally exposed carbon fibre. The Heritage Edition also features hood and door graphics in Frozen White #2 as well as 20-inch single-piece forged aluminium wheels finished in a gold satin clear coat with black lug nuts.
Moving to the interior, the carbon seats are finished in Ebony leather with pillowed inserts, plow-through stitchwork, as well as the Ford GT logo de-bossed on the seat’s head restraints and steering wheel.
Along with the seats, the Ebody leather treatment is also given to the instrument panel, pillars, and headliner. Flourishes of gold are applied to the instrument panel as well, along with the seat’s X-brace and paddle shifters and unique blue webbing on the steering wheel just like the 1966 race car.
Garen Nicoghosian, exterior design manager for the car, says the team set out to highlight where it all started with the Ford GT. “While the looks are distinctly based on the GT40 Mark II race car,” he says, “we’ve accentuated new styling cues to provide a modern interpretation.”
Raj Nair, Ford’s executive vice president of product development and chief technical officer, said: “Celebrating the anniversary of Ford’s historic victories at Le Mans has always been a part of the return of the Ford GT. The 2017 Ford GT ’66 Heritage Edition is a stunning tribute to the car that kicked off Ford’s string of Le Mans victories in 1966.”
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