Ford will fight Ferrari at Le Mans once again in 2027

After years of back and forth and CEO Jim Farley insisting that prototype racing doesn’t have the customer relatability that the Ford brand demands, Ford has finally confirmed it will return to top-flight sports car racing in 2027. That means that for the first time since 1969, Ford and Ferrari Ferrari will clash in the top class at Le Mans for the outright win.

Ford last tasted victory at the world-famous enduro in 2016 with the Ford GT GTE. The car won on its debut, racing against Ferrari’s 488 GTE and the Porsche 911 RSR. This was the leading GT class however, not the top-level prototype class which at the time was LMP1. In 2027, a blue oval will grace the nose of a car that can go for the overall win, as it last did in the 1960s with the GT40 and latterly, the P68.

The American giant always has an eye on costs, so the cheaper LMDh class that forms the basis of the GTP lineup in the American IMSA sports car championship makes sense on a number of levels. Further details, in terms of what powertrain and what chassis provider Ford will go with, remain to be confirmed. 

That said, Multimatic would be a strong guess, as a long-time collaborator with Ford, developing and running the Ford GTE and the Mustang GT3, as well as part-producing the Ford GT road car and the new Mustang GTD.

Also unclear is whether Red Bull, with which Ford has partnered in F1 for the 2026 and 2027 seasons, will be involved with the project. Since Ford has committed to LMDh, Red Bull’s RB17 track-only hypercar (which can apparently be converted to Hypercar spec with relative ease) clearly won’t form the basis. If not partnered with Ford, could Red Bull repurpose the RB17 itself to face off against its F1 partner at Le Mans?

As ever, more details will follow in due course, with just over two years to go until a Ford once again lines up on the grid against Ferrari at Le Mans, alongside Porsche, Toyota, Aston Martin, Genesis, BMW and many more.

Bill Ford, Ford Motor Company Executive Chair, said: ‘There is no track or race that means more to our history than Le Mans. It is where we took on Ferrari and won in the 1960s. It is where we returned 50 years later and shocked the world and beat Ferrari again. 

‘I am thrilled that we’re going back to Le Mans and competing at the highest level of endurance racing. We are ready to once again challenge the world, and ‘go like hell!’’