FORD

NEW FORD GT HERITAGE EDITION WILL REMEMBER FROM DAYTONA'S 24 HOUR RACING HISTORY

Due to the health crisis that we are facing across the planet, the vast majority of events related to the automobile world have been canceled. From traditional salons and sports events of all kinds, to events related to the world of classics and exotic vehicles, they had to close their doors to wait for the next year. One of the largest events that was also affected was the Monterey Car Week, the numerous events that are celebrated on the Monterrey peninsula alongside the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, whose organizers announced several months ago that the 2020 edition would be canceled.
In these events, numerous models are presented each year, both concepts and production vehicles, so that the absence of the Monterey event in the calendar meant another setback for many companies, which had to come up with a way to present the news they had already prepared. A good solution was that of the Petersen Museum, a Los Angeles-based institution that was also affected by the cancellation of events that are celebrated each year on the Monterey Peninsula, so they decided to celebrate their own car week, the Petersen Car Week .
So that in these days some of the models that should have debuted at Pebble Beach events will be presented in California. One of them is the new limited edition Ford GT, which pays tribute to one of the most emblematic examples in the history of the Ford GT40.
For the time being the Dearborn brand has not revealed many details of this new version, but we know that it will be named Ford GT Heritage Edition 2021 and that it pays tribute to a very famous example of the GT40 saga, the GT40 MK II of 1966 that was piloted by Ken Miles and Lloyd Ruby at the 1966 Daytona 24 Hours, which was the iconic Ford model's first official victory in one of the great 24-hour races. It is evident that this new version of the Ford GT uses a decoration similar to that of the GT40 that won that race.

As we well know, after a somewhat disastrous start, the Ford GT40 project passed to Carroll Shelby, who, in collaboration with some of the best engineers and drivers available in the United States at that time, managed to convert the mid-engined sports car into a winner. But that didn't happen overnight, it was after a lot of trial and error tests, in addition to numerous modifications to the model, that made the GT40 competitive to face Ferrari's bulls at Le Mans. The first victory in one of the great events of the calendar happened in the 24 hours of Daytona of 1966, with a copy of white color with some touches of black and the number 98, piloted by Ken Miles and Lloyd Ruby.

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