50 years to the day following the '66 Le Mans 1-2-3, the No. 68 #FordGT has won the GTE Pro Class at #LeMans24 pic.twitter.com/jkMLuWlEYm
— Ford Performance (@FordPerformance) June 19, 2016
In 1966, the original Ford GT40 mk. II proved to the world what an American sports car could do when it left Ferrari, the six-year champion of 24 Hours of Le Mans, in the dust.
The GT40 went on to win the next three years, but hasn't been back to Le Mans since 1969... until last week. The world was left wondering if the brand new Ford GT had the same stuff the classic GT40 did.
"It's a big deal to come back here 50 years after the Ford win in 1966," said Joey Hand, driver of the No. 68 Ford GT that took first place in the Le Mans GTE Pro Class. "We said we wanted to win but to actually do it is huge. This team has come so far in a short space of time. They all worked hard, right through Christmas and New Year and gave us a race car that we can race hard. We drove like it was a sprint race for 24 hours. I've won a lot of races and this is a big one. I'm honored to be part of this program. I'm a red, white and blue guy so to be part of the Ford family, where they treat you like their own, is a great place to be."
The street version of this supercar will be on sale later this year, although the current application window is already closed. Contact Pruitt Ford for more details, or browse our new inventory for other sporty-yet-affordable models.
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