Ford v Ferrari Celebrates American Auto History

The movie "Ford v Ferrari"stars Matt Damon as Auto Designer Carroll Shelby and Christian Bale as Ken Miles; whose reliable design of the GT-40 Mark II cars propelled Ford to victory.

Conquering its rival Ferrari and sweeping the series with all three of its cars finishing first,second, and third place, becoming the first American Auto Manufacturer to win the 24 Hour LeMans Endurance race. The movie is set to debut in theaters nation wide on November 15th.

The story behind the film is as compelling; it is believed that the rivalry between Ford and Ferrari began; when Enzo Ferrari ended a deal that would have partnered the two manufacturers according to a 2016 story published by the New York Times, with Ferrari. The hiring of Carroll Shelby; (who would be known for such legendary automobiles such as the Shelby Mustang and the Shelby Cobra) in 1964 to oversee the struggling GT racing division did not yet yield results, with Ford showing up poorly in 1964 despite investing $10 million dollars, and not qualifying the following year.

In 1966 Shelby designed the GT-40 Mark II; a sleeker and more reliable car, during the race the two cars that Ferrari sent would not finish the race, while three of the Ford Cars led by Ken Miles, the British racer also helped Shelby design the car, Bruce McClaren, and Chris Amon would end up finishing it, with McClaren and Amon eventually being declared the winners of the race. Ford's Public Relations head at the time Leo Beebe wanted to celebrate American dominance and to emphasize more on Ford's victory rather than the racers. Thus he asked that the racers finish the race side by side.

By doing so; the organizers determined that it was McClaren who had won the race due to being eight meters behind, and thus covered more ground on the race. The win would end Ferrari's dominance since 1960, and Ford would end up winning the LeMans 24 hour endurance race the following two years.

Information and digital artifacts of the famous race can be found on the Henry Ford's website.