Ford wants overall Le Mans victory again after 60 years

Ford wants to repeat a victory that made the GT40 a legendary race car.

The Blue Oval has announced that it is returning to the top tier of prototype sports car racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2027, with the goal of winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans 60 years after the GT40 achieved overall victory.

Ford Performance will have a full factory team entering the FIA WEC LMDh class, where Ford will use a spec chassis from an FIA-approved manufacturer along with a spec hybrid system, but will have free reign for the engine and bodywork. It’s set to compete against the likes of Alpine, Aston Martin, BMW, Cadillac, Ferrari, Genesis, Peugeot, Porsche and Toyota. This sets the scene for an all-out battle for championship honors, but more importantly in the jewel of the WEC crown – the 24 hours of Le Mans.

From 1966 to 1969, Ford was able to get outright victory with various versions of the GT40. Since then, Ford achieved class victories in 2016 with the new Ford GT in the GTLM class and more recently with the Ford Mustang GT3.

“We are entering a new era for performance and racing at Ford. You can see it from what we’re doing on-road and off-road. When we race, we race to win. And there is no track or race that means more to our history than Le Mans. It is where we took on Ferrari and won in the 1960s. It is where we returned 50 years later and shocked the world and beat Ferrari again. I am thrilled that we’re going back to Le Mans and competing at the highest level of endurance racing. We are ready to once again challenge the world, and ‘go like hell!’” said Bill Ford, Ford Motor Company Executive Chair.

For now, that’s all the announcement Ford Motor Company had to say during Ford Performance’s annual season launch event in Charlotte, North Carolina, but more details should follow soon.