Le Mans replica recreates an icon

Published Aug 23, 2005

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Monterey Bay, California - a blue and orange-striped Ford GT stood out from a sea of red-painted competitors at Concorso Italiano - just as it did when it won at Le Mans in 1968 and 1969.

The 2006 limited-edition Ford GT in "Heritage" livery recreates the JW Automotive/American Gulf Oil-sponsored Le Mans-winning Ford GT racer, with four white "roundels" allowing customers to apply the number of their choice.

Ford GT marketing manager Carter Balkcom said: "We're proud to offer the Ford GT in these timeless colours, celebrating our historic racing achievements and the technology behind our supercar.

"GT P/1075 is an iconic race car - one of only a few to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice."

2006 also marks the 40th anniversary of Ford's four-year winning streak at the Sarthe circuit.

Product creation vice-president Phil Martens said: "Winning Le Mans proved Ford could beat the world's most prestigious manufacturers and established a culture of performance.

"Today that culture is embodied in the Ford GT."

The Ford GT (the original GT40 name is now privately owned) delivers 410kW and a certified top speed of 330km/h in track trim, with styling closely copied from the historic racing cars - for a base price of under $150 000 (about R970 000).

It's built on an aluminium spaceframe chassis with aluminium body panels and a mid-mounted, supercharged 5.4-litre V8 delivering a claimed 680Nm to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual transaxle.

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