New Ford GT '66 Heritage Edition unveiled

Limited-edition Ford GT '66 Heritage pays homage to the original Le Mans winning GT40 from 1966.

Order books for the new Ford GT may have been closed for the next two years, but there’s no need to despair. Ford has just revealed the limited-run GT ’66 Heritage Edition of the sportscar in honour of the original GT40 Mark II – the iconic sportscar that brought Ford its first ever Le Mans win in 1966.

Updates on the heritage edition are mostly cosmetic, mimicking the body work of the original racecar. It will sport a ‘Shadow Black’ exterior - in gloss or matte finish - with silver stripes running down the bodywork; there’s also an exposed carbon fiber package. Among other racier bits, it comes with Frozen White #2 hood and door graphics along with 20-inch one-piece forged aluminum wheels finished in gold satin scheme with black lug nuts.

The interior of the limited edition model has been tweaked as well. It has carbon-fiber seats in Ebony leather, with pillowed inserts and plow-through stitching. The head restraints and the steering wheel are stamped with the Ford GT logo while the instrument panel, pillars and headliner also come with an Ebony-leather wrap with gold appliqués on the instrument panel and shift paddles. And like the original GT40 of 1966, the steering wheel is leather wrapped with seat belts featuring a unique blue webbing.

On the mechanical front, the limited edition will remain unchanged from the standard model. It will come powered by a 3.5-litre, twin-turbo V6 EcoBoost petrol engine that develops ‘óver 600bhp’. The engine will be mated to a 7-speed semi-automatic gearbox sending power to the rear wheels.

The GT ’66 Heritage Edition will be launched in limited numbers, although Ford hasn’t revealed the exact numbers. Customer deliveries are likely to commence 2017 onwards.

Also read: In the Making – New Ford GT