[ChipBeck]

Gentlemen,

Henry Ford, II is responsible for the creation of the Ford GT. Carroll Shelby was responsible for turning it into a winning race car. The 1-2-3 formation finish at the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1966 is indelibly etched in the history of motorsports and the Shelby legend. The Ford GT scored four consecutive annual victories at that most prestigious automotive endurance race ('66, '67, '68, '69). Then....having proven his point, Henry Ford, II left that field of battle.

Just over 100 original Ford GT40s were produced. Those 100 cars had a major impact on motorsports around the world. Most of those originals survive and are highly prized 7+ figure automobiles today. During 2005 and 2006 the Ford Motor Company produced 4038 new Ford GT's. Carroll Shelby was part of the design team. Ford anticipated that these cars would be snapped up by collectors and wind up as garage queens in collections scattered around the world. They have been both surprised and pleased to see that those of us fortunate enough to own one, regularly flog these automobiles on racetracks, road rallies, and other high-speed events like the Texas Mile. Over 500 of those 4038 cars have been totaled and destroyed. Over 700 of the remaining cars have been shipped outside of the United States leaving only about 2800 Ford GTs here in America.

The hardest of hard-core Ford GT enthusiasts appear to be located in Switzerland. Three years ago the Swiss Matech Race Team set out to return the Ford GT to endurance racing dominance. In their first year, with a brand-new car, they won the European GT3 endurance racing championship. In their second year, they moved up to GT2, and kicked ass again. This year, they've moved up to GT1, AND...... amazingly, they have secured a rare and coveted invitation to the 24 Hours of LeMans.

This is quite an achievement and a stunning milestone for Ford Racing. For the first time since 1969, over 40 years ago, the Ford GT will do battle at over 200 mph down the Mulsanne Straight and underneath the giant Dunlap Bridge. A large contingent of Ford GT owners and other Ford and Shelby fans will be there to see it and enjoy the party.

Congratulations to Ford, to the GT design team (especially Carroll Shelby), and most of all, to the Matech Team in Switzerland. Click on the link below and watch the 40 second video of the Matech Ford GT GT1 car. It will make the hair stand up on the back of your neck. I hope to see a lot of you in France.

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=vztKJSBrKPc

Below are photos of my Ford GT being raced at Texas International Speedway and at the Texas Mile.

All the best.

Chip

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This post has been edited by ChipBeck: 10 February 2010 - 12:55 AM

[COBRA SCOTTY]

Cool news Chip. When is this yrs.24 hrs @ lemans.Also
How did your GT do @ the Texas mile ?

Btw did they make only 100 GT's in yellow. I have been
looking @ a yellow one for sale by a local collector.

Thxs

Scotty

This post has been edited by COBRA SCOTTY: 09 February 2010 - 02:33 PM

[07SGT0547]

Now THAT is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay cool

THANKS for posting, Chip!!!

Here's Part II from YouTube...

Enjoy!

Gregg
07SGT0547

This post has been edited by 07SGT0547: 09 February 2010 - 02:57 PM

[JeffJ]

Very cool. Best of luck to Matech racing this year. Beautiful car.

[tony356]

great news! thanks for the info and the links.

[twobjshelbys]

What class will the FGT be competing in? It will be the most awesome thing in the world if they can win it!

[ChipBeck]

COBRA SCOTTY, on 09 February 2010 - 03:30 PM, said:

Cool news Chip. When is this yrs.24 hrs @ lemans.Also
How did your GT do @ the Texas mile ?

Btw did they make only 100 GT's in yellow. I have been
looking @ a yellow one for sale by a local collector.

Scotty

Scotty,

LeMans is June 12-13 this summer.

Last October my Ford GT went 175.5 mph into a stiff headwind on a very hot, humid day. I had the stock supercharger on it then tuned for our crappy 91 octane Arizona gasoline. The car was putting out about 650 hp. Since then I have had Jason Heffner Twin Turbo my GT. On C16 race fuel it now puts 1050 hp to the rear wheels. I will be returning to the Mile in March and I hope to go 225+ miles per hour.

Yellow was the rarest color both model years by a big margin. Only 97 yellow GTs were produced during the 2005 model year, and just 75 yellow GTs were produced during the 2006 model year. My GT is a 2006.

Chip

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[ChipBeck]

twobjshelbys, on 09 February 2010 - 09:31 PM, said:

What class will the FGT be competing in? It will be the most awesome thing in the world if they can win it!

Two,

There are four classes of automobiles that race at LeMans now. Years ago, there were many more classes but the enormous speed differential between the top cars and the bottom classes made the race extremely dangerous. When the Ford GT was racing there in the 1960s, the top cars would be doing 220 mph down the Mulsanne straight passing four-cylinder production cars that could barely make 100 mph. When a slow car pulled out to pass without seeing a rapidly approaching 200+ mph prototype car, the results were often fatal. So today, GT3 category cars and below no longer compete at the 24 hours of LeMans. 1969 was also the last year for the famous running start where the drivers lined up across the track from their cars and at the drop of a flag, they raced across the track, leapt into their cars, started them and took off without their seatbelts buckled. In the course of putting on their seatbelts at high speed, a fatal crash during that 1969 start with the drivers seat belts unbuckled, ended that tradition. Drivers start today seated and buckled in.

The four classes that compete in the modern LeMans are: P1 and P2 (Prototype cars, not production car-based), GT1(the top category of race car based upon a production line automobile, and GT2 (also production based, but with fewer modifications allowed). The Ford GT will be competing in the GT1 class.

Even the slowest of the GT2 cars are capable of 200 mph speeds. Competing at LeMans is by invitation only.

Chip

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This post has been edited by ChipBeck: 10 February 2010 - 12:41 AM

[MY500SS]

Very cool stuff. Thanks for posting Chip.

[J-Train]

This car is going to be going up against some pretty stiff competiion in the GT1 clas, do they have a chance to actually compete for a class win?
Is the C6R going to be there?

[ChipBeck]

J-Train, on 10 February 2010 - 09:20 PM, said:

This car is going to be going up against some pretty stiff competiion in the GT1 class, do they have a chance to actually compete for a class win? Is the C6R going to be there?

Absolutely. Nobody thought the Ford GT would win in GT3 and it dominated. Up in GT2 it won several races. The GT1 car is really well sorted out and absolutely competative. Chevrolet spends 50 MILLION DOLLARS just on LeMans making the Corvettes world class. The Matech Team is privateers spending their own money but.....the Gods of LeMans smile upon the Ford GT.

Shelby beat Ferrari with the little Daytona Coupe in 1964 at LeMans. It can happen. There will be three C6Rs and two Ford GTs in the GT1 mix.

Chip

This post has been edited by ChipBeck: 10 February 2010 - 10:38 PM

[69GT350Conv4spd]

wooda.coulda , shoulda

Ohhh yes I recall the days.i think it was in 1972-4 or so one was for sale for $19000 as i recall.
i tried to get my dad to buy one(for me) but he wouldnt. He wasnt into cars and saw it as a waste of money.
Well let me be fair,mabe it was the" money" which was substantial in those days .
He wasnt going to take my word for the collectibility value of it.
Ohh wat a retirement amount that would have converted into. Just wait Thats how one begins to think of when you get "older"

This post has been edited by 69GT350Conv4spd: 11 February 2010 - 02:21 PM

[Matts]

Down with DBR9 and C6-R!!

I don't know who else will be showing up for the race, maybe Lamborghini?


FORD GT!! FTW!

[moabman]

Never underestimate the Ford GT! The Matech version has a diffuser that would make Ross Brawn envious

This post has been edited by moabman: 17 February 2010 - 08:45 PM

[CSstang]

Is heard that the ALMS Ford GT's and the LMS (Europe) Ford GT's run different powerplants for competition. I know the GT2's run a Yates-built 302ci small block but apparently the European GT3's run a modified version of the supercharged 5.4L. Can anyone confirm this? If so, I'm wondering why the US teams would go with a completely different engine... even if they did implement the 5.5L max displacement in ALMS GT2 the 5.4L is still within regulations... maybe aspiration rules?

[ilmor]

Would love to actually go to LeMans someday, but I don't see that in the cards. I will be watching on TV thought, and hope to see that GT!

[svttim]

OUTSTANDING!

[ChipBeck]

CSstang, on 11 March 2010 - 09:07 AM, said:

I heard that the ALMS Ford GT's and the LMS (Europe) Ford GT's run different powerplants for competition. I know the GT2's run a Yates-built 302ci small block but apparently the European GT3's run a modified version of the supercharged 5.4L. Can anyone confirm this? If so, I'm wondering why the US teams would go with a completely different engine... even if they did implement the 5.5L max displacement in ALMS GT2 the 5.4L is still within regulations... maybe aspiration rules?

Gentlemen,

Matech builds the ALMS Ford GTs as well as the European LMS GTs. Ford Racing builds and provides the engines for the GT-1 cars and I assume they also provide the GT2 and GT3 engines. I'm a moderator of the Ford GT Forum and our members contributed nearly $30,000 in Sponsorship money to the Maytech Team. The "Ford GT Forum" logo will be on the side of the car when it races at LeMans and I will be there too! About 25 of our members will attend the 24 Hours of LeMans this June 12-13. I communicate with the Matech Team on a weekly basis and they sent me these photos of their new GT-1 car. Color may change for the race depending on major sponsor requirements.

On a related note. Obama Motors has apparently pulled the plug on big GM sponsorship money for the Corvettes at LeMans and all of the CS6 Teams are privateers just like the two Ford GT Teams. I'll post new photos as I get them and after the race I'll post photos from the race. All the best.

Chip

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This post has been edited by ChipBeck: 12 March 2010 - 12:17 AM

[shelbypt]

That is one beautiful car! I wish this team a first place.

[MY500SS]

Beautiful car. All the best to the Matech Team.