The 2021 Ford GT Heritage Edition Has Nothing to Do With the 24 Hours of Le Mans
The Ford GT is perhaps most famous for Le Mans glory, but its heritage is deeper than that.
In keeping with the tradition of saving the best for last, the Petersen Automotive Museum's Monterey Car Week (now in virtual form, thanks to COVID-19) ends with the unveiling of the 2021 Ford GT Heritage Edition and Ford GT Studio Collection by Ford Performance. This special edition Ford GT actually has nothing to do with the 24 Hours of Le Mans—it goes back further than that.
The GT Heritage Edition pays homage to the GT40 Mk II's first endurance race win at the 1966 24 hours of Daytona, driven by Ken Miles and Lloyd Ruby. This victory would eventually lead to Ford winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans that same year. For those of you who have seen the 2019 film Ford v. Ferrari, this race was featured in the "Go Like Hell" scene where Carroll Shelby wagered his entire business with Henry Ford II to get Miles to drive at Le Mans—which for clarity's sake, did not happen. Shelby never made that bet with The Deuce. That was Hollywood spicing up the drama.
The 2021 Ford GT Heritage features Frozen White exterior paint with a carbon fiber exposed hood and asymmetrical Race Red accents throughout the bodywork with a number 98 roundels. The livery is a modernized depiction of the 1966 GT40 MkII version that won at Daytona.
A set of Heritage Gold 20-inch forged-aluminum wheels and red Brembo monoblock brake calipers complete this throwback supercar's look. There is also an optional Heritage upgrade featuring exposed carbon fiber 20-inch wheels with a red-painted inner accent barrel and black Brembo brake calipers with red lettering.
Inside the 2021 Ford GT Heritage, driver and passenger will be snuggled in red Alcantara suede performance seats and treated to a black Alcantara suede-wrapped instrument panel, headliner, and steering wheel rim. The interior door panels display a ghosted 98 roundel on both sides, so the driver and passenger as a continuous reminder of its motorsport heritage. The GT Heritage packs 660 horsepower from the familiar 3.5-liter twin-turbo EcoBoost V6.
Apart from the Heritage Edition, Ford is also announcing the all-new Studio Collection graphics package for the 2021 Ford GT. This appearance package offers customizable colors and features performance upgrades like functional cooling ducts. The heart of this package is to provide customers the exclusivity of personalizing their new Ford GT straight from the factory. The Studio Collection will be a limited-edition run with only 40 units across 2021 and 2022 production years.
The official unveiling can be viewed online at Petersen Museum's YouTube channel. Ford plans to wrap up production on the current Ford GT in 2022.
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