The seeds of Ford were sown in Henry Ford’s home in Detroit, USA in 1896 where he built his
first experimental automobile. Five years later, this car was the backbone to the first car
to leave the production line under the Ford banner, the Ford Model T. Since the
demand for this car was so high, Ford had to develop a new mass production method in order to
supply the vast quantity that was required. By the end of the 1920s Ford had built
production lines in England, Mainland Europe, Latin America, South Africa, Canada and Asia,
and eventually Ford became the most familiar make of car.
Ford has been heavily involved in the 24 hours of Le Mans. In the mid 20th century Ferrari was
going bankrupt and Ford agreed to buy majority shares in Ferrari. However a dispute
over who had ownership of the racing team led to the deal being lost, leaving Henry
ford humiliated and furious. Ford vowed to take revenge in Le Mans, and created a
team of the best engineers and designers to create a car that would leave Ferrari in the
dust, and the Ford GT was born. However the car was unstable at high speeds, with all
three crashing in the next Le Mans race, resulting in the Ferrari’s taking a 1,2,3 finish.
However through painstaking work and design, Ford finally unravelled the GT40,
sitting rock-steady at 210 mph, and as reliable as ever. Finally in 1966, Henry Ford
got his revenge as The GT40s claimed a 1,2,3, finish leaving their mark in history as
one of the greatest racecars and the most formidable of battles the world has seen.
Recently, a film was released about the rivalry between Ford and Ferrari, titled “Ford vs Ferrari”
receiving lots of acclaim at the box office. In the future, Ford aims to delve into
electric and hybrid market, to compete with the likes of Jaguar, BMW, Mercedes-Benz,
and Tesla.