Obsessive Ford GT collectors can rejoice. The company is putting a 2006 GT Heritage Edition up for auction at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Fall Auction in Arizona on October 18. For the GT-uninitiated, this is not the more recent version of the vehicle, the GT that won the 25 Hours of Le Mans in its class in 2016, 50 years after Ford took down Ferrari in a race for the ages. (Ford actually out-dueled Ferrari again in 2016, but under different competitive circumstances.)
No, this is the GT that was built only between 2005 and 2006 (4,038 cars in total) and was more directly evocative of its legendary 1960s predecessor, the GT40. The proceeds of the auction will go toward fixing up historic rides in Ford’s newly established Heritage Fleet. “Thanks to our partners at Barrett-Jackson, we’re selling the 2006 Heritage Edition #3 Ford GT in Epic Orange and Heritage Blue at No Reserve,” Heritage and Brand Manager Ted Ryan said in a statement that provided details on the sale and some info about the reference to the famous Gulf livery. “The sale of this Ford GT is the first of several vehicles that will benefit the amazing cars we identified for permanent retention in the Ford Heritage Fleet,” he added.
The Gulf-themed Heritage Package for this GT was a $13,000 extra and a mere 343 examples were produced. This car coming up for auction was the first publicly-released version, and it has spent its whole life as a presumably pampered but still very busy Ford Motor Company marketing and media vehicle.
A good old-fashioned V8
Unlike the newer GT, which packs a twin-turbo V6 and a seven-speed dual clutch automatic, this earlier GT has a supercharged 5.4-liter V8 mounted amidships. It makes 550 horsepower and 500 pound-feet of torque and pipes the fury through a six-speed manual. According to Ford, citing “various media outlets,” the 0-60-mph time was a tasty 3.4 seconds, and the GT topped out at over 200 mph.
When it was released, the Heritage Edition had four white roundels pre-painted on the car, but Ford shipped it with a set of black vinyl numbers, 0 through 9, so that owners could choose for themselves. Kind of a cool idea — which number would you pick? 7 all the way for me.
So how much is the GT expected to fetch? Barrett-Jackson hasn’t set an estimate, and the auction has no reserve. Robb Report notes that a perfect 1,000-mile GT Heritage Edition went for $850,000 on Bring a Trailer in August, but the relatively high mileage of the Ford-owned car (8,435 miles) could knock some value off. Ford’s marketing department kept this car occupied, plus it endured a few documented mishaps, and that could mean a bargain for some lucky bidder.
A proper throwback
I wrote a book about the second-generation GT that won Le Mans in 2016, so I’m partial to that model and its fantastic, slipstream design, which added some upscale elegance to the GT lineage. However, the 2005-06 GT definitely has more of a rock-and-roll look. It was an homage to the 1960s machines that brought a rough, some might say crude, and purposeful vibe to the track. The GT40s meant business, and the first-generation GT did, too.
A quick word on the Heritage Fleet. Ford revealed that prior to 2024, the company’s heritage vehicles were located in a whole bunch of different places around the world, so CEO Jim Farley asked that Ford centralize the management of the fleet, and Ryan answered the call. The sale of this pretty rare and distinctive Ford GT is obviously a good way to raise some money to fund the care and feeding of its Blue Oval siblings and to keep the effort in decent financial shape.
