If you know your auto racing history — or watched Ford v Ferrari — you’re familiar with Ford’s performance at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans. But that wasn’t the only long-running race where Ford (and driver Ken Miles) achieved glory that year. Miles and Lloyd Ruby also drove a Ford GT40 Mk. II to victory in the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona. And now, Ford is paying homage to that achievement with the design of its 2021 GT Heritage Edition.
On Sunday, as part of the Petersen Automotive Museum ‘s Car Week, Ford unveiled the design of the new GT Heritage Edition. As has been the case with Heritage Editions in past years, Ford chose an iconic moment from its past to pay homage to. As Jeremy Korzeniewski writes at AutoBlog, the design of this car honors Ford’s earlier victory in distinctive ways:
The 2021 Heritage Edition is a tribute to the race-winning car, painted in Frozen White with asymmetrical black (in this modern case, exposed carbon fiber) and red accents. The number 98 is emblazoned across the doors, and one-piece Heritage Gold 20-inch forged-aluminum wheels let red Brembo monoblock brake calipers peek through. Red and black Alcantara fabric covers much of the interior, including the seats and steering wheel.
Ford also took the opportunity to announce a new graphics package for the Ford GT Studio Collection. There will be a total of 40 cars made with this package in the 2021 and 2022 model years.
All told, it’s a nice-looking tribute to where Ford has been — and, perhaps, an intriguing glimpse of where it’s going.
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