A familiar sight at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the big wheel gives breathtaking views of the race. The sky

Ford attempted a return to former glory in the 1980s at the 24 Hours of Le Mans by fielding the C100. Though its foray into competition was troubled and brief, the car demonstrated the level of the American marque's ambitions against Porsche, Lancia and Rondeau.

<p>After the GT40&#39;s success in the&nbsp;1960s, Ford hoped to become a top endurance racing contender once again, this time under the Group C regulations implemented in 1982. These new rules encouraged fuel and&nbsp;aerodynamic efficiency&nbsp;without sacrificing&nbsp;performance. The&nbsp;Ford C100 was the American carmarker&#39;s resonse to the challenge.</p>

<p>The car&nbsp;was technologically advanced&nbsp;for its time with&nbsp;a lightweight aluminum monocoque chassis to optimise rigidity while reducing weight, a 3.9-litre&nbsp;Ford Cosworth V8 engine for power and reliability, and a body that incorporated innovative solutions to maximise aerodynamic efficiency and guarantee respectable&nbsp;top speed in the Mulsanne Straight. However, due to its rushed development, the car&#39;s overall potential was noticeably hindered by&nbsp;reliability problems.</p>

<h2>At the Start of the 1982 24 Hours of Le Mans</h2>

<p>Two&nbsp;Ford C100s took their rookie start in the&nbsp;24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans in&nbsp;1982, supported by German team&nbsp;Zakspeed. It was a crucial test for the car and for&nbsp;Ford&nbsp;seeking to recreate the exploits of the&nbsp;GT40. But, results were disappointing: the cars didn&#39;t even make it to the chequered flag after suffering mechanical failures. The frustrating&nbsp;performance highlighted the need for further development, which Ford was not prepared to pursue long-term.</p>

<p>Faced with mixed results and high costs, Ford quickly abandoned the C100 programme. The marque&nbsp;chose instead to refocus on other disciplines such as rally&nbsp;where it had enjoyed greater success with models such as the Ford Escort RS.</p>

<h2>A Collector Favourite</h2>

<p>Despite its less than stellar track record in&nbsp;competition, the&nbsp;Ford C100 remains&nbsp;emblematic to&nbsp;endurance racing enthusiasts and those nostalgic for Group C. It represents Ford&#39;s bold attempt&nbsp;to take on such titans as&nbsp;Porsche and its&nbsp;956. Today, available C100s are prized by collectors and fans of motorsport history.</p>

<p>Ultimately, the Ford C100 is a symbol of an era when&nbsp;innovation and ambition were the driving forces behind endurance racing, even if the results fell short of expectations..</p>

<p>The American carmarker is gearing up to write a new chapter in its racing history by&nbsp;<strong><a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/ford-in-the-top-class-at-the-24-hours-of-le-mans-in-2027-59293" target="_blank">competing in the&nbsp;Hypercar class</a></strong>&nbsp;starting in 2027.</p>

When Ford sought to reconquer the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the C100

Global automotive icon Ford made its mark on the 24 Hours of Le Mans through innovation, audacity and unforgettable triumphs. Here is a brief look at a saga built on passion and the spirit of competition.

<p>Though Ford was on the scene in&nbsp;the first years of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, it&nbsp;was only indirectly involved in the race. Charles Montier, a French car dealer nicknamed &quot;The Wizard,&quot;&nbsp;fielded&nbsp;modified&nbsp;Ford Ts called&nbsp;Montier Specials, but they didn&#39;t exactly make a splash.&nbsp;In 1937, a Ford TEN GB made its debut under the British flag&nbsp;with Australian driver Joan Richmond at the wheel,&nbsp;finishing&nbsp;14th&nbsp;overall..</p>

<p>After World War II,&nbsp;the American marque functioned&nbsp;primarily as an engine supplier, but the success of General Motors&#39;&nbsp;Corvette compelled&nbsp;Henry Ford II to go on the&nbsp;offensive. Carroll Shelby, a former driver turned car developer, played a critical&nbsp;role in the effort. In 1963, two&nbsp;AC Cobras powered by Ford V8s took the start in the 24 Hours but were easily dominated by&nbsp;Ferrari who finished in&nbsp;the top six spots.</p>

<h2>The Birth of the GT40 in 1964</h2>

<p>Ford invested heavily to compete with Ferrari, buying Lola and hiring British engineer John Wyer. Enter the&nbsp;<strong><a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/24-hours-centenary-the-american-benchmark-ford-gt40-57263" target="_blank">Ford GT40</a></strong>&nbsp;in 1964 at&nbsp;an intimidating height of&nbsp;40.5 inches. Despite gearbox problems in 1964 and 1965, the Shelby-led program progressed with a 7-litre engine&nbsp;in the Ford MKII..</p>

<p>The time for revenge finally arrived&nbsp;in 1966. Ferrari failed to&nbsp;find its rhythm, paving the way for&nbsp;Ford&#39;s&nbsp;three&nbsp;MKIIs to conquer the podium. The finish was a stunner: McLaren and&nbsp;Amon in the #2&nbsp;Ford winning on the back of a&nbsp;<strong><a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/le-mans-66-what-really-happened-55729" target="_blank">controversial&nbsp;end-of-race strategy</a></strong>&nbsp;with only 20 metres separating it from the #1.</p>

<p>Despite the American constructor officially withdrawing in 1968, the&nbsp;Ford GT40 enjoyed continued success thanks to John Wyer. That year, the duo Rodr&iacute;guez-Bianchi won the carmaker a third victory. In 1969, <strong><a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/24-hours-of-le-mans-six-things-you-need-to-know-about-jacky-ickx-54520" target="_blank">Jacky Ickx made&nbsp;history by winning after a walking start</a></strong>, refusing to run to his car. It remains to this day one of the most iconic performances in the history of the race.</p>

<h2>A Class Win 50 years Later</h2>

<p>In celebration of the&nbsp;50th&nbsp;anniversary of its legendary 1966 victory, Ford made its big&nbsp;return to the 24 Hours in 2016 with the new Ford GT. Entered in the&nbsp;LMGTE Pro class, the&nbsp;#68 shared by&nbsp;Joey Hand, Dirk M&uuml;ller and&nbsp;S&eacute;bastien Bourdais clinched a decisive win, a fitting hommage to the&nbsp;marque&#39;s history, demonstrating its capacity to innovate and surmount modern endurance racing challenges.</p>

<p>Ford, through&nbsp;determination and ability, redefined&nbsp;standards at Le&nbsp;Mans. The legacy&nbsp;of the&nbsp;GT40 and its undeniable success&nbsp;continue to inspire&nbsp;generations of&nbsp;drivers, and&nbsp;<strong><a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/ford-in-the-top-class-at-the-24-hours-of-le-mans-in-2027-59293" target="_blank">the American manufacturer will make its highly anticipated return to the race in the&nbsp;Hypercar class&nbsp;in 2027</a></strong>. Could a new duel with Ferrari 60 years later be on the programme?</p>

Ford's legendary legacy at the 24 Hours of Le Mans

On the heels of a promising debut in 2024, the Ford Mustang LMGT3 is gearing up for its second season in the FIA World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC). Fielded by Proton Competition, the two American muscle cars are expected to rise higher in the LMGT3 ranks despite fierce competition. With a revamped team and intensive preparation throughout the winter, the Mustang GT3 will aim to hold its own among the very best in the category.

<p>Unleashed into competition last year, the&nbsp;Ford Mustang LMGT3 quickly became a fan favourite, in no small part thanks to its&nbsp;5.4-liter naturally aspirated V8 engine and street tough design. At the 2024&nbsp;24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans, German team&nbsp;Proton Competition, having joined&nbsp;forces with Ford after a long&nbsp;collaboration with&nbsp;Porsche, clinched a&nbsp;<strong><a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/a-podium-finish-for-the-ford-mustang-gt3-on-its-debut-at-the-2024-24-hours-of-le-mans-58867" target="_blank">podium finish with the&nbsp;#88 of&nbsp;Giorgio Roda/Mikkel Pedersen/Dennis Olsen</a></strong>. The #88&nbsp;finished&nbsp;13th&nbsp;and&nbsp;the #77 finished 17th in&nbsp;the 2024 FIA&nbsp;Endurance LMGT3 Teams Trophy classification.</p>

<h2>2025 Rolex 24 at Daytona Win</h2>

<p>Ford Performance and&nbsp;Multimatic made the most of the winter break to fine-tune the&nbsp;Mustang GT3. The team reached the top step on the&nbsp;GTD Pro podium at the 2025 Rolex&nbsp;24 at Daytona, the season-opener of the North American endurance racing championship, the IMSA. Modifications&nbsp;made to the car are already bearing fruit and bode well for top notch&nbsp;performances in the upcoming FIA&nbsp;WEC.&nbsp;Proton Competition will capitalise on those improvements to take on Aston Martin, BMW, Corvette, Ferrari, Lexus, <strong><a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/mercedes-amg-set-to-join-lmgt3-class-at-24-hours-of-le-mans-and-in-fia-wec-59151" target="_blank">Mercedes-AMG</a></strong>, McLaren and&nbsp;<strong><a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/check-out-the-liveries-for-the-manthey-racing-and-iron-dames-porsches-59287" target="_blank">Porsche</a></strong>.</p>

<p>Set to take the wheel of a Mustang LMGT3&nbsp;for the 2025 season is a decidedly confident&nbsp;<strong>Dennis Olsen:</strong> <em>&quot;We have already seen, at Daytona, that we&#39;ve made a lot of progress through the winter. I hope we can make the best of that for this championship. We have a new line-up with Proton Competition this year, along with the new liveries. The cars are looking great, and we&#39;re looking forward to getting back. We placed third at Le Mans last year, so I want to do two better. I want to win it. We&#39;ll go all in.&quot;</em></p>

<h2>Driver Line-Ups Retained</h2>

<p>For the&nbsp;2025 calendar, Proton Competition decided to retool its driver line-ups to maximise the Mustang GT3&#39;s potential. The&nbsp;#77 will be driven by&nbsp;Ben Tuck/Bernardo Sousa/Ben Barker. The latter&nbsp;is hoping to exploit the progress made during the 2024 season. <strong>Ben Barker:</strong> <em>&quot;I am really excited to continue the journey with Proton into the 2025 season of the WEC. It will be the second season with the Mustang GT3, and I&nbsp;think we have a great chance to convert all our learnings into great results.&quot;</em>&nbsp;Tuck, after&nbsp;one participation in the&nbsp;24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans with the team last year, is seeking to stand out as a key member of the trio. Lastly, Portuguese former rally champion Sousa is aiming to kick off his career&nbsp;in the FIA&nbsp;WEC with gusto.</p>

<p>In the&nbsp;#88, Olsen will be joined by Italian driver and FIA WEC rookie&nbsp;(after competing in the IMSA) Giammarco Levorato, and Steffano Gattuso is realising his dream of hitting the track in the FIA&nbsp;WEC.</p>

<h2>Ramped Up Ambitions</h2>

<p>Thanks to technical advancements, better understanding of the car and overhauled driver line-ups, the&nbsp;Ford Mustang LMGT3s of&nbsp;Proton Competition are approaching 2025 with lofty ambitions. The goal is clear: become a major player in LMGT3 and fight to win the&nbsp;24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans.</p>

<p>Though the competition is high caliber, Ford proved at Daytona&nbsp;the&nbsp;Mustang GT3 has reached a new&nbsp;level. Now on to conquer the FIA WEC. Ford enthusiasts and 24 Hours of Le Mans fans will undoubtely be riveted by&nbsp;the&nbsp;two Mustangs with their distinctive roar and iconic colours.</p>

What to expect from the Ford Mustang LMGT3 in 2025

Le Mans, Ignite your Senses | Tailored to the spectator experience, the 24 Hours of Le Mans consistently provokes intense emotions-turned-memories throughout race week and the main event. The sounds of the race are part of its unique make-up. The roar of an engine is music to the ears of many a motorsport fan, and one of the many reasons spectators attend races.

<p>Long after you return home after the 24 Hours of Le Mans,<u><strong> </strong></u><a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/the-roar-of-legends-how-sound-echoes-our-emotions-at-the-24-hours-of-le-mans-59206"><u><strong>your ears ring with its special sounds</strong></u></a>. The unmistakeable voice of track commentator Bruno Vandestick is part of the landscape, but it is regularly drowned out by a concerto of engines.<strong> Listen out for the Hypercars</strong>. Top class machines produce virtuoso performances. Lend an ear when the <strong>Cadillac V-Series.R</strong> sets off. The first notes are pianissimo electric, but before the American prototype has even exited the pit lane, the distinctive growl of the 5.5-litre V8 fills the air. That sound makes the car a favourite with the crowd. In comparison, the <strong>Ferrari</strong>&rsquo;s twin turbo V6 is brutal yet muted. You can hear the turbo blowing but the hybrid system is discrete. <strong>Peugeot</strong>&rsquo;s 9X8 has a similar set-up, with a hybrid system, but the two cars sound completely different. And the vibrant <strong>BMW</strong> 4-litre twin turbo V8 is different again. The German make&rsquo;s prototype has a distinctly modern sound: smaller capacity coupled with bleeding edge turbo technology.</p>

<div><iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="300" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/1533900907&amp;color=%23ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;show_teaser=true&amp;visual=true" width="100%"></iframe>

<div style="font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/user-85419638" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="24 Heures du Mans">24 Heures du Mans</a> &middot; <a href="https://soundcloud.com/user-85419638/cadillac-v-seriess-24-heures-du-mans-2023" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Ecoutez la Cadillac V-Series.S aux 24 Heures du Mans 2023">Ecoutez la Cadillac V-Series.S aux 24 Heures du Mans 2023</a></div>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>

<h2>tuning up</h2>

<p>Listen carefully when these engines are just ticking over, and watch out for the sound that hails an acceleration. Thanks to their turbo power, all these cars have plenty of torque. The sort that gets a prototype to 300 kph in a few seconds. A roar goes by and rapidly fades away into the distance. To return again barely more than three minutes later. You&rsquo;ll pick it up, hear it approach, get louder, and louder. Suddenly, it comes <strong>thundering through the trees </strong>or along the pit straight. In a flurry of gear changes and braking before the Mulsanne Corner, almost inaudible at the apex, and then a crescendo of raging power<strong> obeying its driver&rsquo;s commands</strong>.</p>

<p>Sometimes cars get pushed to breaking point. Hoarse. Voiceless. The engine worn out. The same one that was singing at the top of its voice not so long ago, beating out a rhythm, lap after lap. In an instant it hiccups, then spouts garbled nonsense when the electronics get confused and it skips a few beats.</p>

<h2>LMGT3s: a symphony of power</h2>

<p>Here comes a pack of GT3s. The orchestra to the Hypercar soloists. They can certainly strike a chord! These engines develop 550 hp. Ample power to approach the 300 kph mark on the Mulsanne Straight. Which is easier to pick out, the<strong> metallic Porsche flat-6</strong> or the V8 of the Ford Mustang and the Chevrolet Corvette? No matter. As long as they do their job and <strong>play their tune</strong>! The Ferrari 296 GT3 stands apart due to its smaller cylinder capacity. In any case, when the prancing horses and their friends are on the run, you certainly hear them coming. When they ramp it up, the quick, clear-cut gear changes set them apart. A road car is no match.</p>

24 Hours of Le Mans: the soundtrack

<p style="text-align: justify;">
	Climbing aboard the big wheel is a marvellous experience. And when you get towards the top, the views are spine-tingling.This year the funfair and the big wheel are inside the go-kart centre, the Centre International de Karting. As the wheel takes you skywards, you naturally look towards the go-kart track.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	Once you get high enough to see all round, you realise just how big an area the track spans and you turn your head in all directions to take it all in. You can see the funfair, the campsite, the track and the cars. You can actually spot the cars as they exit the Porsche curves and follow them up to the Ford chicane. The noise adds to the atmosphere. When the cars are on the other side of the circuit, they are a distant growl and as they get closer the crescendo peaks at a roar as they fly past. That&rsquo;s one more lap done. You hardly have time to be disappointed at losing the all-round view before you begin climbing again.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	The ride is particularly magical at night-time. As the lights sparkle beside you, remember that you are in one of the most iconic symbols of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	The big wheel is a fabulous way to appreciate the whole spectacle of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the height will probably send shivers down your spine too!</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	Karine Avon/ACO - Translated from French by Emma Paulay</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>Photo: 2015 LE MANS 24 HOURS, 12 JUNE 2015. Micka&euml;l, Sandrine and Mathilde in the crowds at scrutineering.</strong><br />
	&nbsp;</p>


24H LE MANS

24 Hours of Le Mans: the big wheel at the funfair

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When Ford sought to reconquer the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the C100

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24 Hours of Le Mans: the soundtrack

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