http://www.roadandtrack.com/racing/...t-to-ford-le-mans-program-and-ford-gt-revival
All signs point to new Ford GT and 2016 return to Le Mans
This is a bigger deal than everyone expected.
By Marshall Pruett October 1, 2014 / Photos by Dave Wendt
Ford has yet to confirm or deny any of its future sports-car racing plans, yet some recent indicators could point to an intriguing direction from the manufacturer.
As we chronicled in July, a GTE-spec Mustang project was considered but then nixed, and a return to Le Mans with P2 engines was also on the table. Ford Racing boss Jamie Allison expressed a favorable opinion regarding a global and domestic P2 engine supply on Monday, and behind the scenes, a number of interesting developments have been progressing.
READ MORE: Ford planning Le Mans return
The other program that was being considered appears to now be in play, as multiple sources have reported Ford’s factory GT program for Le Mans is indeed accelerating towards a debut in 2016—the 50th anniversary of the brand’s victory at Le Mans with the Ford GT40 Mk II.
Ford
Recent meetings between GTE constructors on 2016 rules, as witnessed at Circuit of The Americas, have included a representative affiliated with Ford, and based on additional feedback, a launch of the Ford GT 24 Hours of Le Mans project would coincide with the introduction of the successor to the Ford GT, which ceased production in 2007.
You read that correctly: It seems Ford may have far bigger Le Mans plans than anyone realized, and those plans include a new Ford GT.
Allison was asked if a Ford GT LM24 project was indeed in the pipeline, and he offered the following response:
“Our focus right now is, obviously, finishing the season on a high note at Petit Le Mans,” he said. “Our focus is also working with our partners. I do look forward into a future of some of the classes in the sport, including the P2 we just talked about. We really have our near-term lenses on our participating in the sport and that’s really the scope that we are focused on.
“Anything beyond that would be strictly endeavoring into… just propagating something that is not within the scope of what we focus on. In our realm and in the world of sports-car racing, [we’re] really focused on our EcoBoost-powered DP and focusing on the season here as it comes to an exciting end at Petit Le Mans.”
Translation: "No way I'm providing anything remotely resembling a straight answer on that at this time."
Here's the thing, Allison could have just said, "No." But he didn't.
The last major question involves manufacturing and who'll run the program. Canada’s Multimatic is reportedly queued up to produce the GTE cars, and with strong ties between Ford, Chip Ganassi Racing, and Michael Shank Racing, the Blue Oval has excellent in-house options to spearhead the project.
As for the Earth-shaking probability that a new Ford GT production car is tied to all this, a likely time and place for the announcement of the grand plan would be the 2015 Detroit Auto Show. That's three months away. Things seem ready to get a LOT more interesting, folks.
All signs point to new Ford GT and 2016 return to Le Mans
This is a bigger deal than everyone expected.
By Marshall Pruett October 1, 2014 / Photos by Dave Wendt
Ford has yet to confirm or deny any of its future sports-car racing plans, yet some recent indicators could point to an intriguing direction from the manufacturer.
As we chronicled in July, a GTE-spec Mustang project was considered but then nixed, and a return to Le Mans with P2 engines was also on the table. Ford Racing boss Jamie Allison expressed a favorable opinion regarding a global and domestic P2 engine supply on Monday, and behind the scenes, a number of interesting developments have been progressing.
READ MORE: Ford planning Le Mans return
The other program that was being considered appears to now be in play, as multiple sources have reported Ford’s factory GT program for Le Mans is indeed accelerating towards a debut in 2016—the 50th anniversary of the brand’s victory at Le Mans with the Ford GT40 Mk II.
Ford
Recent meetings between GTE constructors on 2016 rules, as witnessed at Circuit of The Americas, have included a representative affiliated with Ford, and based on additional feedback, a launch of the Ford GT 24 Hours of Le Mans project would coincide with the introduction of the successor to the Ford GT, which ceased production in 2007.
You read that correctly: It seems Ford may have far bigger Le Mans plans than anyone realized, and those plans include a new Ford GT.
Allison was asked if a Ford GT LM24 project was indeed in the pipeline, and he offered the following response:
“Our focus right now is, obviously, finishing the season on a high note at Petit Le Mans,” he said. “Our focus is also working with our partners. I do look forward into a future of some of the classes in the sport, including the P2 we just talked about. We really have our near-term lenses on our participating in the sport and that’s really the scope that we are focused on.
“Anything beyond that would be strictly endeavoring into… just propagating something that is not within the scope of what we focus on. In our realm and in the world of sports-car racing, [we’re] really focused on our EcoBoost-powered DP and focusing on the season here as it comes to an exciting end at Petit Le Mans.”
Translation: "No way I'm providing anything remotely resembling a straight answer on that at this time."
Here's the thing, Allison could have just said, "No." But he didn't.
The last major question involves manufacturing and who'll run the program. Canada’s Multimatic is reportedly queued up to produce the GTE cars, and with strong ties between Ford, Chip Ganassi Racing, and Michael Shank Racing, the Blue Oval has excellent in-house options to spearhead the project.
As for the Earth-shaking probability that a new Ford GT production car is tied to all this, a likely time and place for the announcement of the grand plan would be the 2015 Detroit Auto Show. That's three months away. Things seem ready to get a LOT more interesting, folks.
