Supercar Shakedown
Ford tested the forthcoming Ford GT race car before its big Le Mans reveal
By Steve Turner
Photos courtesy of Ford Performance
Ford Performance engineers are working on a short timetable to get the Ford GT race ready for the world stage a Le Mans, so it’s no surprise that they did in a little testing in advance of the big announcement at Le Mans. The only wonder is that no one saw it. Now that it’s official, the Blue Oval is sharing a bit of that testing in a new video.
“Before Ford revealed its return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans to the world, it was already secretly testing the vehicle it would use to compete on the track. Ford Performance is giving fans around the world an exclusive look at the Ford GT race car’s first shakedown test,” says the Ford video description.
“Four Ford GTs will compete next year under the Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates banner—two in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship (United States) and two in the FIA World Endurance Championship,” the company added. “This first official test kicked off the Road to Daytona—the seven months Ford and partners Multimatic, CGR and Roush Yates Engines would have to prepare for the GT’s first 24-hour race, the 24 Hours of Daytona.”
Now Ford Performance is pulling back the covers on some of that testing, and you can watch it right here…
Of course, let’s not forget that Ford shocked the world with a surprise reveal of this supercar at the North American International Auto Show back in January. The company did so by designing the car in a secret basement studio, and you can get a peek at that work here…
Part of that design work included creating a foam model, and this timelapse video of that process is just cool…
We can’t wait to learn more about this amazing vehicle as its race debut in Daytona approaches, and the hype is sure to reach a fever pitch as Le Mans approaches next year.