2021 Ford GT Heritage Edition – Daytona ’66 inspired - Latest Car News, Bike news & Reviews, Auto News

The Ford GT receives yet another commemorative Heritage Edition for the 2021 model year, and this one pays homage to the company’s first 24-hour endurance win at the 1966 Daytona 24 Hour Continental. Next year marks the 55th anniversary of the Blue Oval’s historic win at the event, which was captured in the 2019 film Ford v Ferrari that you should probably check out.

As the history books show, the Daytona win represented a turning point in the Ford GT race programme, as the classic GT40 went on to secure 1-2-3 wins at both the 12 Hours of Sebring as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The new GT Heritage Edition is styled with inspiration from the bold white, black and red exterior of the winning GT40 Mk II race car, which was piloted by Ken Miles and Lloyd Ruby. The two Ford factory drivers, along with six others, dominated the final standings at Daytona in 1966 with a 1-2-3-5 finish. Meanwhile, the Ferrari 365 P2 – Ford’s target to beat – only managed a fourth-place finish.

“Miles and Ruby led nearly every lap of the 24-hour race and outpaced the competition by 30 miles. The win was the first time anyone had threatened Ferrari’s dominance in sports car racing and represented a turning point in the Ford GT race programme,” said Mike Severson, Ford GT programme manager.

The retro-inspired livery sees a Frozen White exterior with an exposed carbon-fibre hood for contrast, along with Race Red accents on the front fascia, roof edge, driver’s side door and underneath the rear wing.

The car also sports exposed carbon-fibre on the doors to shape the signature “98” roundel graphics, with additional graphics on the lower rear-quarter panels. There’s also a set of one-piece Heritage Gold 20-inch forged-aluminum wheels paired with red lacquered Brembo monoblock brake calipers. For the interior, black Alcantara adorns the instrument panel, headliner and steering wheel rim, while anodised red paddle shifters and red Alcantara is applied to the performance seats.

Customers who want further enhancements can opt for an upgrade package that includes 20-inch exposed carbon-fibre wheels with red accents, black brake calipers with red lettering and ghosted “98” roundels for the interior door panels.

Aside from revealing the latest GT Heritage Edition, Ford also rolled out a new Studio Collection, which offers customers a variety of graphics packages that highlight key styling elements on the car. Only 40 cars can be specified with these packages across the 2021 and 2022 model years – the latter being the final year of production for the GT – with seven standard colours and an extended palette depending on the needs of customers.