Built in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Ford Motor Company, Ford promoted the GT upon its introduction as “The Pace Car for an Entire Company,” and it soon proved to live up to its name. An homage to the iconic GT40 that led Ford to a four-year streak of victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 1966–1969, the new GT’s silhouette was instantly recognizable to motorsport fans worldwide as an icon of American performance.

At its heart was Ford’s all-aluminum 5.4-liter modular V-8. With 550 horsepower on tap, the GT boasts an impressive top speed of 205 mph and a 0–60 mph time of 3.3 seconds. While Ford used Ferrari’s 360 Modena as a performance benchmark during development, the GT proved to be closer competition with much more expensive exotics, such as the Porsche Carrera GT and the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren.

Lucky Ford GT buyers were given a choice of seven optional colors for their new car for the 2006 model year. That year, Speed Yellow proved to be the box ticked the least, as only 75 cars were finished in that color. Of those, 69 were outfitted with the full-stripe option, including both hood stripes and side stripes. This GT features not only the full-stripe option, but two other available options as well: forged BBS wheels, and the upgraded McIntosh stereo.

Amazingly, this Ford GT has been preserved for the last 16 years just as it left the factory. It has been driven fewer than eight miles from new (at time of cataloguing) and presents in virtually as-new condition inside and out. Even the pre-delivery stickers are still affixed to the car’s windshield. Importantly, the car’s original owner’s manuals accompany the car today.

One of Ford’s most exciting products thus far into the 21st century, the success of the 2005–2006 GT undoubtedly helped inspire Ford executives to revive the GT just in time to win its class at the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans, 50 years after the first GT secured the first victory for an American manufacturer at the event. Highly sought after, this rare Speed Yellow example presents an amazing opportunity to purchase an as-new 2006 Ford GT, a perfect stablemate to an original GT40 or the new GT of today.