OPINION: Ford’s return to Le Mans is more exciting than Porsche, Aston Martin and Ferrari’s

The Hypercar class began in 2021 with just three constructors – Toyota, Alpine and Glickenhaus – vying for honours, and the grid has expanded every season since. Porsche and Ferrari threw their hats into the ring in 2023 and Aston Martin will join the fray this year.

But there’s one returnee that stands out above all others. It doesn’t have the prestige of Ferrari, Porsche or Aston Martin but it is a marque that is deeply embedded in the lore of endurance racing, and in particular the Le Mans 24 Hours. The team? The blue-collar Blue Oval: Ford. Dearborn has confirmed that Ford will return to the top tier of endurance racing in 2027. Its rivalry with Ferrari will be rekindled after six decades.

It’s likely that you know by rote the whys and wherefores of Ford’s entry at Le Mans in 1966. Henry Ford II had been slighted by Enzo Ferrari when the Italian pulled out of a deal to sell his company to Ford in 1963. Ford decided to get revenge by setting out to end Ferrari’s six-year dominance at Le Mans, and for four consecutive years (1966-69) it was the Ford GT40 that claimed victory.

It’s one of motor racing’s best-known rivalries, Ford framed as the plucky underdog that stole the lunch of Ferrari as the established dominant force. By the time Ford joins the WEC’s Hypercar class, Maranello will have been competing in the category for half a decade. Having won the last Le Mans 24 Hour races, it could also have re-established a winning streak by the time Ford arrives at the party.

Will the might of the Ford Motor Company mean it will be able to repeat the feat of 1966 with a first-time victory? Only time will tell, but one thing’s for sure: fans will be the real winners when one of the biggest motorsport rivalries is rekindled.

It’s not actually Ford’s first return to La Sarthe. In recent years, it has scored class victories in the lower echelons of the grid. In 2016, for instance, the 50-year anniversary of the GT40’s win was marked by a LMGTE Pro win for the Ford GT, while last year a Mustang GT3 claimed a podium position in the GTD Pro category on its first outing. But nothing compares to seeking overall honours in the world’s most famous round-the-clock race.

In 2027, there will be at least ten constructors in the Hypercar class. Running a car for a season costs around 80 per cent less than it did with an LMP1 Hybrid, which is a major factor in the success of the series. We are, without question, now living in a golden era of endurance racing with such a wealth of storied marques back at the top level of the sport. 

Yet even against that backdrop, it’s the brand that’s most associated with Mondeos and Transits that has us the most excited. Everybody loves the underdog, even when it’s actually a huge corporation.

Race images courtesy of Motorsport Images.