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- Ford GT
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- LEGO
In 2016, Ford returned to Le Mans to celebrate 50 years since the GT40 won the 24-hour event for the first time by racing the second-generation GT. The race car won its class and became the second Ford to triumph at Circuit de la Sarthe. Now, Lego is paying homage to FoMoCo’s success at Le Mans with a two-car set that includes both the old Ford GT40 and the new Ford GT.
Both miniatures feature the same livery as the __cars that won their races. For instance, the 1966 GT40 is finished in black with white stripes, gold wheels, and wears the number 2, just like the car that Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon drove to victory half a century ago. As for the 2016 victor, the GT sports the red, white, and blue livery of Chip Ganassi. However, unlike the GT40, the GT is presented with number 66, which finished fourth in class at the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans. The winning car of Joey Hand, Dirk Muller, and Sebastian Bourdais used number 68.
The new LEGO Speed Champions set will also include racing driver figures for each car, a checkered flag, and even a trophy to recreate Ford’s history-making wins.
“Many people in my team grew up with the legend of Ford’s history-making 1966 victory – and experienced the excitement of building and design for the first time through LEGO bricks,” said Dave Pericak, global director at Ford Performance. “This kit is a powerful way to tell our Le Mans story, and will hopefully inspire the race drivers, engineers, and designers of the future.”
The new GT40 and GT set will be available to order on Lego’s official website starting March 1, 2017. The bundle will cost €34.99 in Europe and £29.99 in the U.K. Pricing for the U.S. market is not yet available, but we expect it to cost around $30 based on stickers for other two-car sets from the Speed Champions series. With the GT40 and GT, Lego’s Ford offerings will increase to six. A Ford Mustang set is on sale now, alongside a Ford F-150 Raptor with trailer, and Ford Model A hot rod.
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Why it matters
This Lego set is a great way to celebrate Ford’s success at Le Mans if you’re a big fan of the Blue Oval brand, as well as own miniature replicas of the company’s most successful race cars. It’s also one of the very few ways in which you can purchase and own both cars. Not only are the original GT40s are worth millions of dollars nowadays, but buying the 1966 Le Mans winner is actually impossible right now. My only complaitn with this set is that Lego should have made the Le Mans-winning No. 68 car instead of the No. 66 versions. On the other hand, the fact that racing number on the GT mirrors that of the original winning GT40 is nothing to sneeze at either.
The iconic Ford GT40 and new Ford GT that won Le Mans 24 Hours in 1966 and 2016 are being brought to life in LEGO® bricks.
The new LEGO Speed Champions set will include both __cars as well as racing driver figures, a chequered flag and even a trophy to recreate those history-making victories.
“Many people in my team grew up with the legend of Ford’s history-making 1966 victory – and experienced the excitement of building and design for the first time through LEGO bricks,” said Dave Pericak, global director, Ford Performance. “This kit is a powerful way to tell our Le Mans story, and will hopefully inspire the race drivers, engineers, and designers of the future.”
Ford won at Le Mans earlier this year after returning to the scene of what was a historic 1-2-3 clean sweep 50 years previously. The LEGO Group worked closely with Ford’s design and licensing teams on every detail of the 1966 winning car, and the new Ford GT race car.
“This was a dream project – with a lot of pressure. The Ford GT40 is one of the most iconic race cars of all time, and the new Ford GT is just incredible,” said Craig Callum, head of design, LEGO Speed Champions. “Designed for children, but with grown-ups fans in mind too, we know these models will be closely scrutinized for authenticity.”
Callum, who in his spare time races a Ford Model A hot-rod, and started out as a designer of full-sized cars, helped develop ten prototypes before the final versions of each model were selected, all created from existing LEGO bricks.
The new 2016 Ford GT and 1966 Ford GT40 set will be available to order at LEGO.com/shop from March 1, 2017, with a recommended retail price of €34.99 (£29.99). A Ford Mustang set is on sale now, alongside a Ford F 150 Raptor with trailer and Ford Model A hot rod.
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