Ford: This car has to win – period

Ford Racing released further details about its nascent FIA World Endurance Championship Hypercar project last week as part of its annual Season Launch event in Detroit, revealing its first three drivers and confirming that the eagerly-anticipated prototype will run a naturally-aspirated, V8 engine.

The team – set to make its competitive debut in 2027 – will be led by former Red Bull Ford Powertrains Programme Director, Dan Sayers. While recognising the magnitude of the task at hand, the Englishman is fully motivated for the journey that lies ahead.

“This challenge is definitely up there,” Sayers acknowledged. “With all the manufacturer involvement and the number of cars, the competitiveness of the category is fierce – it’s brutal. To win, every single aspect has to be perfect, but everybody is fully focused on the objective of getting Ford back to its spiritual home, which is the top step [of the podium at Le Mans].”

Indeed, the Blue Oval’s burgeoning Hypercar effort is more than just a sporting endeavour – it is a matter of family pride within an organisation that was recently ranked number one in a countdown of ‘America’s Most Iconic Companies’ by New York-based Time Magazine. It is, explains Ford Racing General Manager, Will Ford, ‘personal for us’.

“Le Mans is ingrained in our DNA – both that of our company and my family,” he mused. “I grew up with the stories of the GT40s from the sixties. When we went back in 2016, on the 50th anniversary of the first win and beat Ferrari to win again [in-class] with the GT, it was one of the proudest moments of my life. To experience a little bit of the feeling they had in the sixties was amazing, but there was always that lingering feeling of, ‘what if we could go for the overall win again?’ Now, we’re doing it. 

“Back then, we were the challenger, we were the newcomer and we made a statement about who we are and what our company can do when we set our mind to it. We changed the perception of Ford globally with that race, so this Hypercar programme is much more than just a racing programme to us – it’s really a statement that the legends from our past are not just in the past. That’s still who we are today and what drives us today. 

“We’re developing the whole [Hypercar] powertrain in-house, just like Henry Ford did with [his self-built first racing car] ‘Sweepstakes’ 125 years ago. The engine is at the heart of everything we do, and we’re building it the Ford way – the engine we’re developing for Le Mans is something truly special. We have five-litre V8s racing everywhere from Dakar to Daytona, so if you think we’re going into Hypercar without a V8, you’re out of your mind!” 

The passion at the core of the project is palpable, but with aims and expectations also inevitably comes pressure to perform. Ahead of the 1966 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Henry Ford II famously handed his leadership hand-written cards simply saying, ‘You Better Win’. Sixty years on, little has changed.

“Our company was born on a racetrack in 1901,” reflected the American automaker’s Executive Chair, Bill Ford. “My great grandfather won the race, got the money and started Ford Motor Company – but it’s much more than that.

“When I think about the Ford family, we’ve all loved racing since the day we were born – our family name is on every car we race. That’s a lot of pressure, but it’s also a lot of pride. When we race, we’re racing for our family, we’re racing for our employees, we’re racing for our dealers, we’re racing for our customers and we’re racing for America – so this car has to go to Le Mans and it has to win. Period.”

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