Ford GT picks up historic liveries for its final hurrah at Le Mans
Ford's factory endurance efforts will wrap up after this season.
When Ford returned to Le Mans, it wanted to win its class, and it did. Now, a few years later, as the automaker is preparing to leave the series, it's preparing some proper vintage liveries for its final factory outing.
Ford on Tuesday unveiled a series of "Celebration Liveries" for the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans. Each of the four Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GTs will wear a different outfit, each celebrating one of Ford's various Le Mans milestones. The #68 will wear perhaps the most familiar livery of all, because it's the same look the car sported when it won Le Mans in 2016.
The remainder will be dedicated to older affairs. The #66 car will sport a black livery based on the one Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon rocked as they won Le Mans in 1966. The #67 GT wears a red-and-white getup based on the 1967 GT that won Le Mans with A.J. Foyt and Dan Gurney behind the wheel. Finally, the #69 GT is clad in an opposing livery based on the GT that finished second at Le Mans in 1966. There will be a fifth GT at Le Mans, as well, but it's not part of Ford's factory effort -- it's running in the GTE Am (amateur) class with Keating Motorsports.
"The Ford GT was created to take Ford back to the world of GT endurance racing," said Mark Rushbrook, global director of Ford Performance Motorsports, in a statement. "This factory Ford GT program has been a great success for our brand and we have enjoyed the many challenges that have come our way during this four-year program."
