Why is it called the Ford GT?
The name harks back to Ford’s iconic Le Mans-winning machine of the 1960s, the GT40. In short, GT references Grand Tourer, while the trailing 40 has inspired decades of explanation and debate about its exact meaning. The most common interpretation is that the car was designed to be around 40 inches tall, but other theories exist and no single official story has been universally adopted.
Origins of the GT name and the Le Mans mission
Ford’s factory-backed effort in the early 1960s aimed to topple Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The project produced a racer that would become legendary for its performance and rivalry. The resultant car adopted the GT designation, a family line Ford associated with grand touring prototypes designed for high-speed endurance racing.
What “GT” stands for
The “GT” in GT40 is widely understood to represent Gran Turismo (Grand Tourer). This label is traditionally used for high-performance cars designed for speed and endurance on long-distance routes, rather than pure, narrow-track race cars. In Ford’s case, the GT40 paired that Gran Turismo branding with a bold numerical suffix that entered the legend of the model.
What the “40” might signify
There are several theories about the meaning of the “40” in GT40. The most commonly cited explanations are these:
- Height: The car was designed to sit very low, and its height is often described as about 40 inches tall, contributing to its distinctive silhouette.
- Internal development designation: Some accounts suggest the “40” reflected an internal project or iteration number within Ford’s GT program.
- Commemorative or marketing reference: A few sources link the 40 to a milestone or legacy moment tied to Ford’s Le Mans effort, though this is less consistently stated by official sources.
In practice, the most enduring and widely repeated explanation is the 40-inch height, which aligns with the GT40’s famously low profile. The other theories have appeared in various retellings and are not uniformly endorsed by Ford or historians.
The revival: how the modern Ford GT keeps the heritage alive
In the early 2000s, Ford revived the name with a new mid‑engine supercar that paid homage to the original GT40. The modern Ford GT preserves the spirit of Ford’s Le Mans battles while using contemporary materials and technology. The name “GT” is kept, but the numeric GT40 designation is not carried forward in the current model line.
How the modern car honors the legacy
The contemporary Ford GT embraces the GT lineage through design cues inspired by the original GT40—low, wide, and aerodynamically focused—while employing modern engineering. The revival began with a concept in 2002–2004 and a production release around 2005–2006, featuring a mid-mounted V8 and a carbon-fiber chassis. In the 2010s and beyond, Ford continued the lineage with a second generation that uses an advanced EcoBoost V6, lightweight construction, and sophisticated aerodynamics to deliver high performance and a nod to the GT40’s enduring legend.
Summary
The Ford GT name links a modern hypercar to Ford’s historic Le Mans success. “GT” signals Gran Turismo, while the “40” has become a point of discussion: the most cited, widely accepted interpretation is that it refers to the car’s approximate height—about 40 inches—creating the unmistakably low silhouette that defines the model. Beyond that, internal project designations and commemorative notions have circulated, but there is no single official, universal explanation. The modern Ford GT continues the homage by carrying forward the heritage of the GT40 while using contemporary engineering to push performance forward.
