In the early 1960s, Ford Motor Co. made it a mission to dethrone Italian automaker Ferrari as the perennial winner of The 24 Hours of Le Mans. From 1958 to 1965, Ferrari dominated the storied endurance sports car race, winning every year except 1959, when it went to Aston Martin.
By 1966, Ford's Ferrari beater was ready and so the GT40 was born. It went on to become the first American-made race car to win the Le Mans title and went for the gusto, taking home wins for the three years that followed its first victory. Ferrari has since never won another Le Mans.
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The legacy cemented the GT40 as a fixture in Ford's history, and now the Dearborn, Michigan, automaker is sending the supercar off in style with the release of one final GT Mk IV in 2023, which, Ford says, is the last of its kind.
The 2023 GT Mk IV pays homage to the 1967 Le Mans-winning Mk IV with a sleek, sharp, aerodynamic design. To commemorate its historic '67 win and make the supercar all the more elite, Ford is only producing 67 units priced at $1.7 million apiece.
Ford's priciest GT is also its most powerful. The new model — which is designed exclusively for the track, not the street — is powered by a twin-turbo engine that cranks out more than 800 horsepower. The lightweight ride's carbon fiber body and massive spoiler further its aerodynamics.
The supercars are to be assembled at the Multimatic facility in Markham, Ontario, and race fanatics who have the need for speed have to go through an application process to get their hands on one of these elite rides. You won't see one sitting on the lot at your local Ford dealer.