Heritage Edition Ford GT honors ’66 Daytona victory
Ford’s triumphant 1966 Daytona 24 Hour Continental, the first 24-hour endurance win for the GT40, will be celebrated with a new Heritage Edition of the GT supercar. The livery honors the historic #98 car driven by Ken Miles and Lloyd Ruby who led Ford to a 1-2-3-5 finish.
The Frozen White with exposed carbon fiber hood and Race Red paint scheme will be available to 40 buyers who order a 2021 or 2022 Ford GT. It marks the first Heritage Edition GT that pays homage to a race other than Le Mans. The Daytona-inspired cars will wear number 98 and feature Ford graphics on the lower rear-quarter panels along with one-piece Heritage Gold 20-inch forged-aluminum wheels that frame red Brembo monoblock brake calipers.
An optional Heritage Upgrade Package swaps the forged aluminum wheels for exposed carbon fiber units that use a gloss red-painted inner accent barrel and contrasting black brake calipers with Brembo lettering in red.
“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 honors the 55th anniversary of the Daytona 24 Hour endurance race that would eventually lead to our successes at Le Mans,” says Mike Severson, Ford GT program manager.
As cool as the paint scheme looks, a “Heritage Edition” of a vehicle that is so clearly an homage to the original GT40 does seem a bit … redundant. Every Ford GT built for public consumption since the 2005 retro reboot of the model is the automotive equivalent of a billboard emblazoned with a Blue Oval and three-foot-tall letters that read, “Hey guys, remember the time we beat Ferrari?” We’re not mad about it, because if there ever was a road car that should always be in race livery, it’s the Ford GT.
However, if you’re not one for Daytona nostalgia, Ford has other good news. Buyers of the final two years of GT production who want to specify their own livery can take advantage of the Studio Collection graphics package. Customers can pick colors to go with a paint scheme designed by Ford Performance and Multimatic, the Canadian company that builds the GT.
“The combination of the stripes and accents invokes the emotion of speed and draws your eye to some of the most prominent features of the GT,” said Multimatic design head Garen Nicoghosian. “The fuselage, buttresses, and signature features on the headlights provide visual anchors for the graphics, guiding your eye across the vehicle.”
Both the Heritage Edition and Studio Collection will be available on just 40 GTs each. It seems that Ford has ensured every GT buyer will be able to get whatever flavor of supercar they want. Each GT built continues to be a desirable collectible. Ford did warn, however, that GT production comes to a halt in 2022.
