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198 BARRETT-JACKSON EXPERIENCE WINTER 2024ALAN MANN HERITAGE EDITION 2022 FORD GTPALM BEACH PREVIEWFord Motor Company has done an impressive job of leveraging its racing history to produce new and interesting performance models. From reborn Cobra Jet drag racing Mustangs to Boss 302 Laguna Seca editions, many a victorious Ford race car has been memorialized decades later with a fresh version that introduces that heritage to a new generation.The Ford GT40 earned an especially rich racing legacy in the 1960s, and Ford has not missed a beat in recalling the car’s triumphs with its supercar successor, the Ford GT. The original GT40 won the 24 Hours of Le Mans four times in a row from 1966-69, with additional wins at every top sports car endurance race on the planet: 12 Hours of Sebring, 24 Hours of Daytona, 12 Hours of Reims, Spa 1000 and the Watkins Glen Six Hours. Starting with the 2006 Gulf Livery Heritage Edition GT, Ford has produced 10 Heritage Edition GTs between the 2005-06 and 2017-22 generations that recall those milestone wins. One of the most sought-after Heritage Editions, a 2022 Ford GT Alan Mann Heritage Edition, will be offered with No Reserve at the 2024 Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach Auction, April 18-20 at the South Florida Fairgrounds. Alan Mann Racing in England was instrumental in the GT40’s development. Ford had committed substantial resources to the GT40 project, but there was no guarantee of success. Achieving victory in international endurance racing did not come easily and required considerable trial-and-error testing. Following AMR’s successful preparation of Falcons for the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally, Ford enlisted the young company as a European base for GT40 development. In 1965-66, Alan Mann Racing created the AM GT-1 and a second car, based on the GT Mk APRIL 18-20, 2024I. Mann focused on incorporating lightweight materials into these prototypes to improve performance. The cars did not bring home trophies from major races, but the lessons learned were essential in turning the GT40 Mk II into a Le Mans legend. The Alan Mann Heritage Edition GT wears the red and gold livery for which AMR’s 1960s-era race cars were known, with number 16 in the roundels like the original AM GT-1 prototype. In an engineering development that Alan Mann himself would have appreciated, the special GT shaves every extra ounce with a lightweight carbon-fiber body, carbon-fiber 20-inch wheels with titanium lug nuts and carbonfiber front splitter, side sills, mirrors, engine louvers and rear diffuser. The interior captures the spirit of the 1960s with Alcantara-wrapped seats featuring gold and red accent