Back in July 2014, a report claiming that Ford might return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a factory GT program got us all excited. The rumor said the Blue Oval is planning a comeback for 2016, just in time to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its first overall win in France. While the scenario makes some sense, we honestly thought Ford wouldn’t have enough time at its disposal unless it was already working on the project. Three months have passed since then, and now we have some fresh info on the matter; a key man from Ford Racing confirmed the manufacturer is considering a return to the world’s longest-running endurance race.
Speaking to Road and Track, which is convinced Ford will join the P2 class in 2016, Ford Racing boss Jamie Allison admitted the company’s future plans might include a Le Mans car. "I do look forward into a future of some of the classes in the sport, including the P2 we just talked about. We really have our near-term lenses on our participating in the sport and that’s really the scope that we are focused on," he said. Of course, Allison’s words are far from the official confirmation we are looking for, but at least he didn’t he didn’t say "No."
Quoting "multiple sources," the report goes on to say Ford’s factory GT program is moving fast towards a 2016 debut at Le Mans. What’s more, it appears recent meetings between GTE class constructors on 2016 rules at the Circuit of The Americas have included a representative affiliated with Ford. Again, this doesn’t mean the Blue Oval is necessarily joining the race, but it reveals the American constructor is at least interested in doing so.
Lastly, Road and Track also suggests the factory GT program also means there’s a brand-new, road-legal Ford GT underway. If this proves to be accurate, the GT nameplate could return for the first time since 2005, when Ford’s last supercar, and the spiritual successor of the Le Mans-winning GT40, was axed.
Click past the jump to read more about Ford GT.
Ford's Le Mans Return Could Spawn New GT Supercar originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 3 October 2014 10:00 EST.
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