Ford has today confirmed that it will enter the World Endurance Championship from 2027 with a new prototype racer. The new LMDh car - so using a spec chassis from Dallara, Ligier, Multimatic or Oreca - will of course follow in the footsteps of the legendary GT40, plus more recent Mustang GT3 and GT class triumphs.
Details are pretty thin on the ground for the moment, Ford betting - probably quite rightly - that its return to the upper echelons of sports prototype racing, taking on the best from Ferrari, Aston Martin, Cadillac, Toyota, Porsche and so on, is newsworthy enough for now. We don’t know anything about powerplant, chassis provider or drive lineup - but their ambition, as expected, is clear: ‘Ford Performance will lead the charge with a full factory team entering FIA WEC with the aim of once more taking on the sport’s most demanding race – the 24 Hours of Le Mans.’
It might even be said that ‘taking on’ is a little modest, given Ferrari’s recent victories with the 499P - presumably nothing would be sweeter than beating Maranello at Le Mans again. Bill Ford, the company’s Exec Chair, even mentioned the Prancing Horse in his press comments. So we’re not getting entirely ahead of ourselves - Ford wants to beat Ferrari at La Sarthe all over again.
Certainly it’s great news for the World Endurance Championship, and further validation of the new ruleset, another prominent manufacturer bolstering a busy grid in a couple of seasons’ time. The Championship’s CEO Frédéric Lequien said: “Ford has been synonymous with success both on and off-track for decades, and we are delighted that the company has chosen the FIA World Endurance Championship for its latest challenge. To have at least ten major automotive brands committed to the series’ top-tier in 2027 is testament to the championship’s stellar momentum and growth."
It’s heartening for a good news announcement to be heard from Ford, too, which has had its struggle of late on the road car side, but is doubling down on its motorsport commitment (there was an update too on its return to F1 - see the vid above). Today’s press release suggested that ‘additional details’ will be ‘shared later’; you can bet they won’t hang around, keen to really make the most of the momentum that will build up.
Bill Ford added: “We are entering a new era for performance and racing at Ford. You can see it from what we’re doing on-road and off-road. When we race, we race to win… I am thrilled that we’re going back to Le Mans and competing at the highest level of endurance racing. We are ready to once again challenge the world, and ‘go like hell!’” Exciting news indeed - more when we have it.
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