Limited Ford GT gets iconic Gulf livery 30 | 08 | 2018
PERHAPS THE MOST ICONIC livery ever to grace a race car is back. Gulf has joined with Ford to produce the new limited run Ford GT ’68 Heritage edition for the 2019 and 2020 model years. The model is the culmination of celebrating the 50th anniversary of Gulf Oil's first Le Mans victory with the legendary Ford GT40. (Related: Ford GT celebrates '67 Le Mans win)
The car won the world’s most demanding 24-hour endurance race in four successive years from 1966. This new Heritage Blue with Heritage Orange paint scheme honours the Gulf Oil-sponsored Ford GT40, chassis #1075, which won the race in 1968 and ’69.
The ‘68 Heritage Edition follows in the path of two earlier Ford GT Le Mans-inspired models - the 2017 Ford GT ’66 Heritage Edition honoring the GT40 Mark II driven to victory by Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon at Le Mans in 1966 and '67 Heritage Edition celebrating Dan Gurney and A.J. Foyt's Le Mans victory a year later. (Related: New GT is fastest-ever production Ford)
The Ford GT ’68 Heritage edition features the famous Heritage Blue exterior with Heritage Orange graphics and is offered with optional exposed carbon a-pillar and #9 graphics on both the hood and doors.
The car sports unique high gloss dark stainless 20-inch one-piece forged aluminium wheels with black lug nuts. Orange calipers and silver rearview mirror caps complete the look. (Related: Franchitti 'living the dream' with Ford GT in WEC)
The Limited-edition Ford GT also features exclusive interior colours, materials and appointments. Ebony Alcantara is used extensively throughout the interior while blue and orange stitching accentuates the seats and steering wheel with a new seat embossment inspired by the original ’68 Le Mans winning car as well as clear & polished anodized paddle shifters.
High gloss dark stainless appliqués are used on the instrument panel, door register bezels and x-brace. The ’68 Heritage edition boasts a unique identification plate plus exposed matte carbon fibre door sills, air register pods and centre console.
Gulf has many oil industry firsts to its name - including being the first company in the world to open a drive-in fuel station, and this is the first time that a lubricant & fuel manufacturer has partnered with a global Vehicle Manufacturer to produce a road car production model.
“Many say the Gulf Oil paint scheme is the most famous in motorsports, propelled by the 1968 GT40 that quickly became a global sensation after Ford beat its European competitors not three, but four times in a row,” Joe Hinrichs, Ford executive vice president and president, global operations, said.
“We set out to accentuate the new Ford GT’s race-inspired aerodynamic lines with the Gulf colours, while staying true to the original GT40 Le Mans winner.”
The Ford GT ‘68 Heritage Edition was officially launched at the Rolex Historic Reunion event at the Laguna Seca raceway in California by Ford’s Joe Hinrichs and Gulf’s Ravi Chawla. The car took its place in a specially designed garage, which depicted the 50-year span of success and which featured Gulf-Ford GT40 #1075, the actual 1968 and 1969 Le Mans-winning car.
Ford won't say how many GT ’68 Heritage edition will be built, except 'limited quantities will be available for the 2019 and 2020 model years and, for 2020, the package will boast an optional No. 6 in honour of the 1969 Le Mans winner.'
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Jim McGill