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Ford GT gets the Lego treatment


Le Mans-bound, Australian designed Ford GT and classic GT40 racers recreated with 40,000 Lego bricks.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans kicks off this weekend, and Ford is making its long-awaited return to a race it dominated in the 1960s with its iconic GT40.

The 84th running of the world’s toughest endurance race coincides with the 50th anniversary of Ford’s 1-2-3 finish in the 1966 event; a feat inspired, as legend has it, by Enzo Ferrari’s rejection of Henry Ford II’s proposal to buy the small Italian carmaker.

Enraged, the Ford boss vowed to beat Ferrari at its own game, commissioning the build of the GT40 race car.

To commemorate its return to Europe’s premier endurance event, Ford has commissioned the build of a slightly more unusual race car build… made up of 40,000 Lego bricks and taking nearly three weeks to complete, the one-third sized replica will adorn a Ford display within the massive Le Mans precinct. It will be accompanied by a similar model of the classic GT40. 

Ford has already received 6500 orders for a two-year total production run of just 500 units for the American-built swooping two-seater.

Four full-size GTs will take the green flag at Le Mans in Saturday, with Aussie Ryan Briscoe and New Zealand’s Scott Dixon amongst the driver line-up.

More than a year in the making, the 2016 GT race program is a spin-off from the road-going GT car project, announced at the 2015 Detroit Motor Show.

Ford has already received 6500 orders for a two-year total production run of just 500 units for the American-built swooping two-seater, which was designed in total secrecy in Detroit over two years by a team led by Australian-born Todd Willing.

Powered by a twin-turbo 3.5-litre V6, the GT is expected to pump out more than 450kW at the rear wheels. Unfortunately for potential Aussie customers, the GT will only come in left-hand drive.

Do car companies like Ford still need mega-dollar supercars to spearhead their range? Tell us what you think in the comments below.