Ford has officially announced its return to Le Mans in 2016 with the all-new GT race car, which will compete in the LM GTE Pro class.
It’s a hell of a way to mark the 50th anniversary of Ford’s historic 1966 overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. But the Ford GT race car will not only compete at Le Mans.
Ford has announced a factory program to compete in both the FIA World Endurance Championship and TUDOR United SportsCar Championship with a two-team, four-car effort that will be run by Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates.
Based on the all-new limited series supercar that goes on sale next year, the Ford GT race car will run the full 2016 schedules of the FIA World Endurance Championship and TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, making its competition debut in January 2016 in the Rolex 24 At Daytona, Florida.
The peak of the 2016 season will obviously be the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where both series teams intend to compete with a four-car effort. Drivers will be announced later, but if we’re to believe Bill Ford, drivers are already lining up to be a part of the project.
Ford says the new GT race car features a number of innovations that “will not only make it competitive in LM GTE Pro,” but also “provide benefits to each vehicle in the Ford lineup.”
These innovations include “state-of-the-art aerodynamics to deliver outstanding levels of downforce for improved stability with minimal drag, advanced lightweight composites featuring carbon fiber for an exceptionally rigid but light chassis, and the power and efficiency of EcoBoost technology.”
The race car will feature the 3.5-liter twin-turbo 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 engine that debuted in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship in 2014. Ford race cars powered by this engine have captured overall wins at the 12 Hours of Sebring and Rolex 24 At Daytona.
Ford will be joined in this project by Multimatic Motorsports, Roush Yates Engines, Castrol, Michelin, Forza Motorsport, Sparco, Brembo and CGRFS.