The Ford GT40 was famously born of a rivalry between Henry Ford II and Enzo Ferrari, with Ford becoming furious after Ferrari backed out of a deal that would have seen the Blue Oval buy the famed Italian supercar maker. After getting mad, Henry Ford II got even with an absolutely dominating performance of the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans. It’s one of the best stories in all of motorsports, and we have the rivalry to thank for the new 2017 Ford GT.
But where Ford beat Ferrari on the race track, it still falls short in the court of public opinion, especially among younger car enthusiasts. Ford builds the boring cars that Mom and Dad drive, while Ferrari is all about fast and fun cars. Thus the Italian automaker has gone undefeated in the Frankfurt Motor Show’s Children’s Choice category by appealing to their base instincts.
Well, two can play at that game.
The Ford GT, with its carbon fiber body, 600+ horsepower EcoBoost V6 engine, and race car looks, handily beat its two main competitors, the 660 horsepower Ferrari 488 Spider and Lamborghini Huracan. Granted, the 488 Spider isn’t Ferrari’s strongest entry, where the Ford GT is undeniably the Blue Oval’s range-topping model. But Ford also isn’t a supercar maker, or at least not strictly so.
That may have been what helped Ford overtake Ferrari in the minds of younger auto enthusiasts. While most kids don’t have parents driving Ferraris, most everyone has been in a Ford at one point or another in their lives. That connection between the glamorous GT and dad’s Fiesta may by weak at best, but it’s an association that’s ingrained early on in life, and Ford seems to be breaking through to the next generation of car buyers.