The Ford Motor Company has confirmed that it will join the FIA World Endurance Championship’s Hypercar category and fight for the title and a fifth overall Le Mans victory in 2027.
Ford Performance will run the effort as a full factory team, with the aim of replicating the ‘Blue Oval’s success at the event in the 1960s, when it won the race four times in a row between 1966 and 1969.
“We are entering a new era for performance and racing at Ford,” said Bill Ford, the Ford Motor Company’s executive chair.
“You can see it from what we’re doing on-road and off-road. When we race, we race to win. And there is no track or race that means more to our history than Le Mans. It is where we took on Ferrari and won in the 1960s.
“It is where we returned 50 years later and shocked the world and beat Ferrari again. 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!’”
The reveal, which took place during the Ford Performance Season Launch Event in Charlotte, North Carolina this evening, was light on detail.
However, Ford has disclosed, as expected, that it is designing an LMDh prototype, though it is not clear at this stage which chassis supplier has been selected. ORECA and Multimatic are believed to be the front-runners.
No technical details have been shared at this stage either. Curiously, Ford’s current drive is to create a ladder based on the Mustang platform, from its road-going models, through single-make, all the way up to its flagship GT3 model. One wonders if this new prototype will be branded as a Mustang and house a naturally aspirated V8?
There is also no mention of an IMSA GTP component to this new venture at present. The only commitment currently, is to the FIA WEC. Though of course, in the current era, Ford will be able to campaign the car in the top classes of both IMSA and WEC should it wish to.
“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,” sys Frédéric Lequien, the FIA World Endurance Championship’s CEO.
“To have at least 10 major automotive brands committed to the series’ top-tier in 2027 is a testament to the championship’s stellar momentum and growth.”
Pierre Fillon, Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) President added: “It is wonderful news to welcome Ford back to the top level of the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the first time in almost 60 years.
“It is a brand that has always had a close affinity with this very special race, and history shows that Ford does not compete to finish second. The renewal of its famous rivalry with Ferrari is truly an exciting prospect.”
This will be the first Ford programme to compete for the overall win at Le Mans since 1983 and the first factory-entered top-class effort from the brand since 1982 (both with the C100, below).
This programme will also see Ford return to the WEC and Le Mans as a factory for the first time since the end of the Ford GT GTE Pro effort run by Chip Ganassi Racing and Multimatic in 2019.
Remarkably, Ford’s confirmation means it has become the 15th different manufacturer to commit to a race programme across Hypercar and GTP since the regulations debuted.
More details on this new programme are set to be shared in due course.
Image credits: Ford
