Ford Motor Co. on Wednesday announced the new 2022 Ford GT LM Edition — a final special edition model for the third-generation Ford GT sports car that pays homage to the company’s 2016 performance at the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race.
And by limited, Ford means limited: only 20 units of the model will be available. Customer deliveries of the model are slated to start this fall, with production wrapping up by year’s end, according to a news release.
“With innovative materials, design and engineering, the Ford GT is unlike any other productionsupercar,” Mark Rushbrook, global director of Ford Performance Motorsports, said in a statement. “As we close this chapter of the road-going Ford GT, the GT LM Edition gave us a chance to inject even more heart and soul from a podium-finishing racecar, furthering the tribute to our 2016 Le Mans win.”
The No. 68 Ford GT of Sébastien Bourdais, Joey Hand and Dirk Müller was the overall GT winner of the 2016 Le Mans. The No. 69 Ford GT of Ryan Briscoe, Scott Dixon and Richard Westbrook also ended up on the podium with a third-place finish.
The 2022 Ford GT LM edition features a carbon fiber body with “liquid silver” exterior paint. It will be available in both red and blue themes — a nod to the red-and-blue livery of the winning Ford GT at the 2016 Le Mans. Customers can choose between exposed red or blue tinted carbon fiber.
A 3D titanium-printed dual-exhaust featuring a cyclonic design inside the tips is unique to the model, which comes with a twin-turbo 660 horsepower EcoBoost engine. A titanium GT LM badge is 3D-printed above the tips.
The red-and-blue theme carries over to the interior, where customers will find wrapped carbon fiber seats with a matching red or blue driver’s seat and ebony passenger seat with accent stitching that matches the color of the driver’s seat and the engine start button.
And in another nod the company’s 2016 Le Mans performance, the Ford Performance team tracked down the third-place 2016 Ford GT race car’s engine and ground down the crankshaft into a powder. That powder was then used for a bespoke alloy used to 3D print the instrument panel badge for each of the special edition cars.
Ford has not shared pricing information for any of the special edition models, but the GT’s starting price is around $500,000. In total, there are 10 ultra-limited-edition Ford GT models that celebrate the super car’s racing legacy.
Meanwhile, Ford noted Wednesday that the Ford GT Mk II — a limited edition, track-only model co-developed by Ford Performance and Multimatic — also wraps up at the end of the year with production of 45 units.
jgrzelewski@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @JGrzelewski