Ford is considering fielding a hybrid hypercar in the top class of world endurance racing, which could see it go toe to toe with Ferrari for all-out victory at Le Mans for the first time since 1969.
Since the original GT40 bowed out, Ford has not been represented in the upper echelons of sports car racing (except for the ill-fated C100 of the early 1980s), but now as the firm dramatically enhances its focus on motorsport, a return to the front of the grid at La Sarthe is possible.
That’s according to Mark Rushbrook, global director of the Ford Performance motorsport division, who has told Autocar that the firm is “constantly studying or looking at where we can race, or should race”.
With entries in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) GT3 class, the Dakar Rally, the World Rally Championship, Nascar, Australian Supercars and Pikes Peak, plus a return to Formula 1 with Red Bull in 2026, Ford Performance is already “competing in more places than any other manufacturer”, Rushbrook said.
But Ford – unlike Toyota, Ferrari, Peugeot, Lamborghini, Alpine, Cadillac, Porsche, BMW and others – does not currently compete in either the Le Mans Hypercar (LMH) or Le Mans Daytona h (LMDh) prototype classes.
Asked if the company would consider adding a hypercar to its motorsport portfolio, Rushbrook told Autocar: “To be responsible for what we're chartered to do, we need to be aware of all opportunities.”
He cited the growing visibility and competitiveness of endurance racing, plus the FIA’s decision to allow LMH and LMDh cars to race together, as particular incentives that could spark Ford’s return to top-flight endurance racing.
“Motorsports is very strong, overall, globally, and all different disciplines - they're all strong. But I think, relatively, sports car racing in these last three years has really come on, and a lot of that is because of global convergence.
“GTE and GT LM converged with GT3 – so now we've got one focus for GT racing, which helped us make sense out of having the Mustang GT3 – and the same at prototype [level], which has not truly converged in many ways, because there's still the LMdH formula, or the LMH formula, but at least there's the ability to race them together, so that convergence has been great.”
Rushbrook did not say whether Ford would be more likely to opt for LMDh – which mandates manufacturers must use a high proportion of off-the-shelf components, including a specific electric motor arrangement and a chassis supplied by one of four licensed constructors – or LMH, which allows a much greater degree of design and engineering freedom.
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