Ford unveiled its next-generation Ford GT at the North American International Auto Show last Monday amongst a backdrop of speculation that the super coupe will be competing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2016.
If rumour is correct, it would be the first time a Ford factory effort graced Le Mans since the C100 project under the Group C category in the early 1980s.
Built to conform to the Automobile Club de l'Ouest's (ACO) GTE regulations, the GT40 MK II will go head-to-head with Aston Martin, Corvette Racing, Porsche and Ferrari’s AF Corse squad.
The legendary, Indianapolis-based Chip Ganassi Racing will run the show after its long association with Ford through its EcoBoost Daytona Prototype program in the TUDOR Championship, while Canadian chassis experts Multimatic have been tasked with readying the GT40 for GTE compliance, whilst the coupe will run Ford's V6 EcoBoost units as developed by Roush Yates Engines in North Carolina.
Aerodynamics will also be a major concern given the long straights at Le Mans requiring low-drag characteristics. It’s possible Ganassi Racing have already stolen a march in this area with Chip Ganassi coming clean in September last year about their secret wind tunnel facility at Laurel Hill.
But just ow did Ford keep their new supercar under wraps? With virtually nothing a secret in the automotive industry anymore, Ford’s efforts in keeping the GT40 hidden until launch date was nothing short of a masterstroke in subterfuge.
"We designed it in the basement,", Ford's design director Christopher Svensson told Road & Track..
The basement in reference resides directly underneath Ford's Product Development Center (or "PDC").
Svensson, the GT's team was kept to a bare minimum, with access kept to a handful of design managers and only four designers. All of them had special key cards that granted them access to the lower level.
When the GT40 was required to see the light of day, authorized staff rolled it out on Sunday mornings when the building was all but empty.
returns to Le Mans? GT40