It came as something of a shock when Ford Racing decided to move its annual motorsports announcement from Charlotte, NC, home of NASCAR, to Detroit’s Michigan Central Station this year – but there was good reason for the move considering the big news this time around puts the automaker on a truly global stage.
In front of a standing-room-only crowd, officials from Ford and new partner Red Bull Racing rolled out the new cars they’ll start campaigning on the Formula One circuit, starting with the March 7 Australian Grand Prix. The Detroit automaker also confirmed rumors that it’s getting ready to make its long-awaited return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, aiming for its first overall victory there since the 1960s.
“Le Mans is Ingrained in our DNA”
Ford Motor Co. owes its very existence to motorsports, founder Henry Ford convincing backers to invest in his fledgling company only after he beat a favored rival in a race back in 1901. But it was another battle to the finish in 1966 that has inspired countless stories, books and even films, Ford posing an unlikely challenge aimed at toppling Le Mans king-of-the-hill Ferrari which had racked up six consecutive wins in a row. Not only did a Ford GT40 manage to beat its rival across the finish line after 24 hours but the Detroit maker managed to nab all three podium positions.
Related: Ford’s “Most Original” GT40 MkII Is Headed to Auction for the First Time in Decades
Now, Ford wants to repeat that success and it revealed it’s got an in-house skunkworks team in place already working up a new hypercar aimed at landing another victory at the world’s most famous endurance race.
“Le Mans is ingrained in our DNA,” said Ford Racing General Manager Will Ford, Henry Ford’s great-great grandson, and son of the company’s current chairman, Bill Ford. “There’s always been that feeling: could we go back for the overall win again?”
New WEC Hypercar
“We’re building this car all in-house, just as Henry Ford did with (his 1901 racer) Sweepstakes 125 years ago,” the family heir told the crowd at Michigan Central Station Thursday night. And while Ford is being vague about specifics, he did offer one significant detail. “If you think we’re going back to a hypercar without a V-8 you’re out of your mind.”
In fact, the World Endurance Champion hypercar will be powered by a naturally aspirated version of Ford’s 5.4-liter Coyote V-8, sharing a similar architecture to the engine used in the Mustang GT3 race car.
“It is more than just a component; it is the identity of the car,” Dan Sayers, Ford Racing’s Hypercar program manager, added. “When you hear a Ford coming down the Mulsanne Straight at three in the morning, you shouldn’t have to look at the badge to know who it is. That is why we chose the Coyote.”
Teaming Up with the Bull
Reentering Le Mans is just one of the steps Ford is taking to increase its profile on the global motorsports stage. Perhaps even more headline-grabbing, Ford has teamed up with Red Bull Racing for a shot at the glory on the Formula One Circuit. The move had long been rumored, though Ford CEO Jim Farley admitted that, “If the regulations didn’t change I don’t think we would have done this.”
The cars that take to the track barely seven weeks from now will be decidedly different from last year’s racers. They’ll not only be lighter but a bit shorter and narrower than in 2025. They’ll have a higher ride height and flatter floor, and they won’t make nearly as much downforce. The most significant difference, however, will be found “under the hood,” so to speak. While teams like Oracle Red Bull Racing will still be using a turbocharged 1.6-liter V-6 internal combustion engine, they’ll now have to 1) use “sustainable fuels” and 2) make fully half their power from a hybrid system. Though the partners were, again, somewhat sparse with details, the system they’ve developed weighs in at a mere 16 kg – about 35 lbs – yet makes a peak 350 kW, or 470 hp.
Related: Inside Ford’s Secret Plan to Build a Racing Hypercar Team for 2027
Trash Talk
The project came together in a fraction of the time it typically takes to develop an all-new power unit of this magnitude, officials from both Ford Racing and Red Bull stressed. And they conceded it’s unlikely it will race to the front of the pack as the upcoming F1 season begins. But with the rest of the competition also facing the grand transition – and with Max Verstappen as lead driver – they’re hoping they can deliver at least a competitive effort this year.
That will be particularly important for Chairman Bill Ford considering the trash talk Ford Racing has gotten from General Motors, also making its entry into F1 this year. GM President Mark Reuss dismissed his rival’s program as little more than a publicity stunt. “We have great rivalries with, you know, GM,” Ford’s chairman responded. “I think they better be careful when they start throwing that around. It’s going to be fun.”
New F1 livery revealed
Beyond the new power unit, Red Bull and Ford on Thursday revealed the new livery that will be seen on the F1 circuit. Or, more precisely, two sets of livery as they’re backing two factory teams:
- Oracle Red Bull Racing; and
- Visa Cash App Racing Bulls.
Surprisingly, “Ford” is not part of the name for either team. And the company’s Blue Oval logo only appears in subdued form towards the rear of each car. But the automaker will certainly have bragging rights should the new power unit deliver, as promised.
NASCAR Not Sidelined
Paul Eisenstein/Autoblog
While Ford’s F1 and Le Mans programs were clearly the headline-making announcements this week, the automaker is clearly not walking away from more familiar efforts, especially NASCAR. That distinctly American program has long been a critical lynchpin in Ford marketing efforts. And it will serve that purpose again, said Ford Racing Global Director Mark Rushbrook. The newly unveiled Mustang Dark Horse SC will take the field during the 2027 NASCAR Cup Series, starting with the Daytona 500.
The SC is the latest variant of the Dark Horse line introduced in 2022. The automaker had yet to reveal many details about the new model except to confirm it will use a supercharged 5.2-liter V-8 likely to make substantially more power than the current Dark Horse model’s naturally aspirated V-8.
Thursday’s event, incidentally, came as Ford was set to run the last two stages of the Dakar Rally, widely seen as the world’s most grueling off-road race. Ford was, at that point, running second overall. If it can move up a spot it would mark the automaker’s first-ever overall win in the Saudi Arabian event.
