As part of the Ford Motor Company centennial celebration, the company debuted the retro-styled GT. A modern homage to Ford’s racing heritage, the GT celebrated the highly successful GT40 program of the 1960s, which won Le Mans an impressive four consecutive years from 1966 through 1969. Ferrari was once again firmly in Ford’s sights when it came to this new supercar, but with a twist. On an episode of Jay Leno’s Garage, the Ford GT’s Chief Designer Camilo Pardo outlined the philosophy that drove the development of the GT:

“The goal was to outperform Ferrari in every category, but on the street—compared to in the ‘60s [when] it was, outperform them at Le Mans and everything else. But we’re doing a street car this time.”

In addition to the stunning design, the Ford GT featured impressive performance, the likes of which had not been seen from a production car built in Detroit. Powered by a 5.4-liter DOHC V-8 engine and equipped with a Lysholm twin-screw supercharger, the GT is rated at 550 horsepower and 500 pound-feet of torque. The engine is paired to a Ricardo six-speed manual transmission featuring a helical limited-slip differential. This driveline allows the Ford GT to achieve a 205-mph top speed and 0-60 sprint of 3.3 seconds. These extraordinary performance figures put the car in competition with other supercars of the time, such as the Porsche Carrera GT and the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. Exceedingly popular since its debut, the GT went into production for the 2005 and 2006 model years, during which time only 4,033 examples were built.

For the final model year, 2006, Ford introduced a limited-production Heritage Edition. Finished in Heritage Blue with Epic Orange stripes, the cars featured white roundels to which the owner could add a number of their liking. The rare livery was inspired by the John Wyer Gulf Oil back-to-back Le Mans–winning car of 1968 and 1969, GT40 chassis number 1075.

This 2006 Ford GT was completed at Ford’s Wixom plant on 28 August 2006 and destined for the Canadian market. Finished in the iconic Heritage Blue with Epic Orange GT stripes, the car left the factory outfitted with three options: The car features BBS forged lightweight alloy wheels, gray-painted brake calipers, and, of course, the Heritage livery. The GT was sold new through Universal Ford Lincoln in Alberta, Canada. Subtle exterior modifications to the car include the factory blank white roundels donning racing #40 and the BBS wheels having been painted orange with an unfinished polished outer lip, a sharp retro-inspired look that closely replicates the appearance of the double Le Mans-winner. The interior features aftermarket quilted diamond stitch door panel inserts, a billet shifter bezel with upgraded shifter boot, and an e-brake boot kit. Additionally, the Ebony leather seats have been upgraded as well with silver seat vent inserts, or “hot buttons,” as they are known in the GT community, a popular modification paying a more accurate homage to the GT40 interiors of the 1960s.

Built to Canadian requirements, this GT features daytime running lights and was originally equipped with the standard radio which has since been upgraded to a more modern unit (the original radio will accompany the car upon sale). This GT joined the Dare to Dream collection in 2012 and has covered 1,850 miles from new at time of cataloguing.

One of just 343 Heritage Editions produced for 2006, this scarcely driven three-option GT is a stunning example of the model and a wonderful representation of Ford’s “pace car for an entire company.”