VIDEO: Ford GT gets racy
Race-going GT shown testing as Ford builds up hype to Le Mans return -- 50 years after the original GT40 wonFord has released a video of its all-new Ford GT race car testing ahead of it debut in the 2016 World Endurance Championship and United SportsCar Championship.
The video, described as a “secret shakedown”, was recorded before Ford announced it would once again return to Le Mans to compete in the world’s most famous endurance race and before anyone had seen the racing version of the GT supercar in the metal.
Competing in the LM GTE Pro category, the 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6-powered race-spec GT will compete against the Porsche 911 RSR, Aston Martin Vantage GT2 and the Ferrari 458 Italia GT2.
The GT's first track session, said to be fault-free, was the first step in four intensive months of gruelling track work to ensure the race version of the Ford GT is both fast, and reliable, enough to compete at the highlight of the race season -- the Le Mans 24 Hour.
This year, according to Ford, the GT race car will be used as a “hotbed for technical innovation”.
Product development boss, Raj Nair, explains: “The [GT] highlights our capability. The innovations with what we’re doing with our EcoBoost engine technology, the innovations with our lightweight vehicles and with our aerodynamics. It’s a big deal for us.”
Ford plans to enter two two-car teams in the championship run by Chip Ganassi Racing. The driver line-up has yet been announced.
Ford’s return to sports car racing in 2016 commemorates its 50th anniversary of the original GT40's historic win back in at the 1966 Le Mans 24 Hours. Ford then went on to dominate the famous endurance race from 1966-1969.
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