As promised, here are some images of the new 2019 Ford GT Heritage Edition in Gulf Livery. This color combination, paying homage to the famous Gulf Livery worn by the 1968 and 1969 Ford GT40s that won Le Mans, will be available for the 2020 model year GT, too. Only a limited number of new Ford GT buyers will be allowed to purchase this Gulf Livery Heritage Edition, and I’m not one of them.
Category: New Ford GT Page 6 of 11
The New Ford GT will be produced for model years 2017 through 2020
If you’re a new Ford GT fan you already know the company has been making a “heritage” edition of the Ford GT every year since it was introduced. The first year new Ford GT Heritage model paid homage to Bruce McLaren’s GT40 win at Le Man in 1966. I reported on the debut of this black-and-silver new Ford GT 2 years ago during Monterey Car Week.
You can see all the color and trim options for the new Ford GT at the Ford GT configurator, but for buyers looking to take the easy way out back in 2017 there was the Ford GT ’66 Heritage Edition. This one is designed to pay homage to the original GT40 that won the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mens race. It debuted at the 2016 Pebble Beach Concours in Monterey.
Fifty years after winning Le Mans in a 1-2-3 sweep, Ford Motor Company returned to the most famous race in the world. This 24-hour test of man and machine, with a 90-plus-year history, remains the pinnacle of endurance racing. Winning the 24 hours of Le Mans is a claim every automaker wants to make — but only 14 can. Winning Le Mans four or more times, which Ford didĀ from 1966 to 1969, has only been accomplished by 6 automakers. So when Ford returned to Le Mans with the new Ford GT in 2016, it was a big deal.
I was fortunate enough to attend the race for the first time that year. It had been on my bucket list forever, and I figured this was the year to make it happen. Happily, the Ford GT Forum felt the same way and arranged a group travel package for owners. By working directly with the automaker the Ford GT Forum was able to secure space in Ford’s VIP suite, which overlooks the front straight at Le Mans.
I first saw the new Ford GT at the Detroit Auto Show, when it made its world debut at the Ford press conference in Cobo Arena. At the time I didn’t know how many new Ford GTs would be made, how much they would cost, or if I could ever get one. Of the last 4 years I’ve learned the answer to the first two questions, and last week I definitively answered the final question.
My 2019 Ford GT Carbon Series arrived on a Reliable truck after hauling it all the way from Multimatic in Markham, Ontario (just outside Toronto). It was a rainy week in Southern California, and the day it arrived the rain fell from sunrise to sunset…except for the 2 hours surrounding my new Ford GT’s drop off. I appreciated not having to run between the detail shop where it was delivered and GT’s cabin. Instead I was able to capture the event on video as you can see below.