Ford will celebrate 55 years since it dominated the 1966 Daytona 24 Hours with a 2021 GT Heritage Edition. It gets a Frozen White and Race Red livery against exposed carbonfibre panels with the signature 98 roundel prominent. It's actually the first time Ford's created a GT to mark the Daytona win, which is somewhat surprising given how much the following Le Mans triumph has been celebrated. 1966 was, of course, the year Ford ended Ferrari's sports car racing reign after the famous feud with Enzo.
2021 will be the last year of GT production so the Heritage Edition's launch comes not a moment too soon, with each also receiving Ford graphics on the rear wings alongside one-piece Heritage Gold 20-inch forged-aluminium wheels. Behind them, red lacquered Brembo monoblock brake calipers accentuate the race look, on a car which was conceived with motorsport function at its core - see the 2016 Le Mans GTE win as evidence.
The Heritage Edition is to be accompanied by a new GT Studio Collection in the 2021 line-up. Limited to 40 examples, the new variant gets a broader range of customisability, including new exterior graphics, bespoke colours and highlights, the latter emphasising the extensive cooling ducts, there to keep that 660 EcoBoost V6 and its surrounding oily bits all in working temp range. The colour themes were designed with Ford Performance partner and GT producer, Multimatic.
"For this Heritage Edition, the Ford Performance team went deeper into the Ford GT's race history and crafted a limited-edition model that stylistically honours the 55th anniversary of the Daytona 24 Hour endurance race that would eventually lead to our successes at Le Mans," said Mike Severson, Ford GT programme manager. "Plus, for customers who want to highlight the carbon-fiber body and functional cooling ducts that help deliver Le Mans-winning performance, the Ford GT Studio Collection offers another new way GT fans can personalise their supercars."
No pricing has been announced for the variants, unsurprisingly, but expect a sizeable increase on the half a million reportedly paid for UK-bound GTs. Especially when it comes to the Studio Collection, thanks to its additional rarity.
1 / 18