2022 Ford GT supercar to depart with Le Mans-derived special edition

The final edition of the $US500,000 Ford GT, a supercar developed entirely to win at Le Mans, is being given a send-off with a unique connection to the French sports car race.

Ford developed the GT for an attack on the 2016 running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its 1966 victory over Ferrari – the inspiration for the Ford vs Ferrari movie – with the original Ford GT40.

The third-generation GT racers did the job and claimed the prize and now, to mark the production of the final 20 GT road cars, Ford has taken the crankshaft from the engine of the third-placed racer and reduced it to powder to 3D-print special pieces for the cabins of the cars.

“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,” the global director of Ford Performance Motorsports, Mark Rushbrook, said in an official Ford press release.

The special pieces include a bespoke alloy instrument panel badge made from the ground-down engine crankshaft.

All 20 examples of the GT LM Edition, with a 492kW turbocharged V6 engine, will have their carbon-fibre bodies painted in Liquid Silver paint with a choice of red or blue-tinted highlights – linking to the liveries of the 2016 racers – and the driver's seat upholstery in a matching colour.

They also have Australian-made 20-inch carbon fibre wheels, made by Carbon Revolution in Melbourne from the start of the GT road car program.

The wheels have red or blue accents and titanium wheel nuts.

Ford says the GT LM package also includes a 3D titanium-printed dual exhaust system with a badge, also 3D printed in the same material, above the exhaust tips.

Apart from the colour-matched driver's seat, the cabin in the GT LM is upholstered in black leather with Alcantara fabric for the seats.

The instrument panel is also wrapped in black leather and Alcantara while carbon fibre is used on the console, air vents and lower windscreen pillars with a matte finish.

Ford has not announced a price for the GT LM, but the previous GT models were widely believed to have sold for $US500,000 and collectors – including Australian racing driver Ryan Briscoe, who was part of the Ford GT driver line-up at Le Mans – expect prices to rise significantly in coming years.

Deliveries of the 2022 Ford GT LM are expected to begin this month with production wrapping by the end of the year.