Gentlemen,
As a freshman in high school I enjoyed watching an old TV show called the FBI. I’m sure some of you remember it. During one episode the lead agent was trying to arrest some drug dealers who escaped in a Learjet. The FBI agent made his way to a nearby Marine Corps air base and was instantly welcomed into the rear seat of an F-4 Phantom whose pilot, along with two other Marine aviators proceeded to run down that Learjet and force it to land. I know that scenario is preposterous but the sight of those magnificent jets and the aura surrounding the Marines who flew them had a strong effect on me. I resolved then and there that I would fly for the Marines someday. Upon graduation from high school I entered an officer training program called PLC (platoon leaders class) that had me spending half of my summers during college in Quantico, Virginia at Officer Candidate School. During those same college years the war in Vietnam came to a close, the Marines did not need pilots, and I was disqualified from being flight eligible for routine allergies. I never became a Marine aviator nor did I ever fly a Marine Corps jet. Upon graduation from college I was discharged and the first thing I did is learn to fly while running our family’s automobile dealership. Five years later I started aerobatic flight training and immediately entered competition. Four years after that I had progressed through all five categories and won my first of three “Arizona State Unlimited Aerobatic Championships”. Those credentials led to my becoming the airshow demonstration pilot for the Stoddard Hamilton Aircraft Company, and that job soon had me flying in many of the largest airshows in the United States including military shows where performances by the Blue Angels or Thunderbirds were supplemented by civilian performers. I’ll never forget my first airshow at the Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, Arizona. The United States Marine Corps was paying me $1000 a day to fly for them. I desired it so much that life gave me a second chance to live out that dream.
So what the hell does that have to do with today??? Stay with me. In the mid-1960s my father was the general manager of Chase Morsey’s Paradise Ford in Scottsdale, Arizona. Chase was a former Ford factory executive and a big race car enthusiast. He sold quite a few Shelby Mustangs and Cobras. On one occasion my father brought a brand-new Cobra home and took me for a wild ride when I was eight years old. I spent quite a bit of time at the dealership and during one visit Chase had a Ford GT sitting in the show room. An honest to God original Ford GT, one of only 134 produced. A handful of those cars were built for sale to the general public but that was not the purpose of the GT program back then. It was conceived, designed, and built to do one and only one thing, to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Selling a few cars to the general public was incidental to that true purpose. It was the most beautiful car I had ever seen and like many young boys who viewed such cars I vowed that I would own one someday. What would it have been like to have had one built to your personal specs back in 1965? To have your own hand built piece of automotive history? How cool would that have been?
When Ford announced they were building a new GT a decade ago I immediately set about searching for and acquiring my own. I purchased my yellow GT new in Houston, Texas in early 2006 and that car has led to friendships, adventure, travel, endless debauchery, and priceless memories. I have read and studied everything I could get my hands on related to the Ford GT, it’s race history, and the legendary men involved in its manufacture and accomplishments on the track. The pinnacle of all this of course was Le Mans, but my 2006 GT was not built to win at Le Mans like the originals; my GT was built to pay tribute to those 1960s GT’s. The Ford Motor Company never raced the new GT although a few privateers did.
DBK and I were at Le Mans when the Matech GT’s dominated all production cars for the first eight hours back in 2010. We could all taste victory that night. It was something that we intensely desired and it was becoming more real with each passing hour. I was sitting near the Dunlap bridge late that night in the darkness when Ford GT #60’s engine expired and the dream was shattered. We all went to bed thinking, “How cool would it have been to see the Ford GT win again at Le Mans?”
And that brings us to today. The Ford Motor Company has once again laid it all on the line to compete against the world’s best auto manufacturers at the toughest motor race on earth with a new Ford GT whose singular purpose is to win at Le Mans. And again, selling a few of the new GT’s to the public is secondary to the cars reason for being. Like the original GT's produced by Lola in the 1960s, these would be hand built by master craftsmen in very small numbers, this time by Multimatic in Canada. And because these new GT’s exist to race and win at Le Mans, I believe they are the true spiritual successors of those 134 original GT’s. And like the originals, these new GT’s are as rare as unicorns and nearly impossible to acquire by mere mortal owner/enthusiasts like me.
But desire is a powerful force. Ford took their new GT back to Le Mans and hundreds of GT Forum true believers were on hand to witness another epic Ford/Ferrari battle resulting in the GT’s victory. This time all of our desire came to fruition and I believe it is that desire combined with the loyalty and ferocious devotion of our Ford GT community that led the Ford family and Raj Nair to give many current Ford GT owners an opportunity to acquire one of these rare, historic, and very special automobiles.
Today we can announce that 4 Ford GT Forum Members will be among the very first individuals to take delivery of a new Ford GT. Those 4 members have finalized their personal specifications and signed contracts. They are David Bannister, Tomy Hamon, Brian Stormer, and Chip Beck. I am humbled, I am honored, and I am thankful.
I also have trouble believing it. But what I do believe more than ever, is that if you want something badly enough, life will give you a second chance. How cool is that?
I know I speak for every one who has been chosen to own a new Ford GT when I say thank you in the most sincere way to the Ford family, to Raj, and to the entire Ford Team. And for his tireless work on our behalf, our endless gratitude to David Bannister.
All the best.
Chip Beck
Moderator
Ford GT Forum
As a freshman in high school I enjoyed watching an old TV show called the FBI. I’m sure some of you remember it. During one episode the lead agent was trying to arrest some drug dealers who escaped in a Learjet. The FBI agent made his way to a nearby Marine Corps air base and was instantly welcomed into the rear seat of an F-4 Phantom whose pilot, along with two other Marine aviators proceeded to run down that Learjet and force it to land. I know that scenario is preposterous but the sight of those magnificent jets and the aura surrounding the Marines who flew them had a strong effect on me. I resolved then and there that I would fly for the Marines someday. Upon graduation from high school I entered an officer training program called PLC (platoon leaders class) that had me spending half of my summers during college in Quantico, Virginia at Officer Candidate School. During those same college years the war in Vietnam came to a close, the Marines did not need pilots, and I was disqualified from being flight eligible for routine allergies. I never became a Marine aviator nor did I ever fly a Marine Corps jet. Upon graduation from college I was discharged and the first thing I did is learn to fly while running our family’s automobile dealership. Five years later I started aerobatic flight training and immediately entered competition. Four years after that I had progressed through all five categories and won my first of three “Arizona State Unlimited Aerobatic Championships”. Those credentials led to my becoming the airshow demonstration pilot for the Stoddard Hamilton Aircraft Company, and that job soon had me flying in many of the largest airshows in the United States including military shows where performances by the Blue Angels or Thunderbirds were supplemented by civilian performers. I’ll never forget my first airshow at the Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, Arizona. The United States Marine Corps was paying me $1000 a day to fly for them. I desired it so much that life gave me a second chance to live out that dream.
So what the hell does that have to do with today??? Stay with me. In the mid-1960s my father was the general manager of Chase Morsey’s Paradise Ford in Scottsdale, Arizona. Chase was a former Ford factory executive and a big race car enthusiast. He sold quite a few Shelby Mustangs and Cobras. On one occasion my father brought a brand-new Cobra home and took me for a wild ride when I was eight years old. I spent quite a bit of time at the dealership and during one visit Chase had a Ford GT sitting in the show room. An honest to God original Ford GT, one of only 134 produced. A handful of those cars were built for sale to the general public but that was not the purpose of the GT program back then. It was conceived, designed, and built to do one and only one thing, to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Selling a few cars to the general public was incidental to that true purpose. It was the most beautiful car I had ever seen and like many young boys who viewed such cars I vowed that I would own one someday. What would it have been like to have had one built to your personal specs back in 1965? To have your own hand built piece of automotive history? How cool would that have been?
When Ford announced they were building a new GT a decade ago I immediately set about searching for and acquiring my own. I purchased my yellow GT new in Houston, Texas in early 2006 and that car has led to friendships, adventure, travel, endless debauchery, and priceless memories. I have read and studied everything I could get my hands on related to the Ford GT, it’s race history, and the legendary men involved in its manufacture and accomplishments on the track. The pinnacle of all this of course was Le Mans, but my 2006 GT was not built to win at Le Mans like the originals; my GT was built to pay tribute to those 1960s GT’s. The Ford Motor Company never raced the new GT although a few privateers did.
DBK and I were at Le Mans when the Matech GT’s dominated all production cars for the first eight hours back in 2010. We could all taste victory that night. It was something that we intensely desired and it was becoming more real with each passing hour. I was sitting near the Dunlap bridge late that night in the darkness when Ford GT #60’s engine expired and the dream was shattered. We all went to bed thinking, “How cool would it have been to see the Ford GT win again at Le Mans?”
And that brings us to today. The Ford Motor Company has once again laid it all on the line to compete against the world’s best auto manufacturers at the toughest motor race on earth with a new Ford GT whose singular purpose is to win at Le Mans. And again, selling a few of the new GT’s to the public is secondary to the cars reason for being. Like the original GT's produced by Lola in the 1960s, these would be hand built by master craftsmen in very small numbers, this time by Multimatic in Canada. And because these new GT’s exist to race and win at Le Mans, I believe they are the true spiritual successors of those 134 original GT’s. And like the originals, these new GT’s are as rare as unicorns and nearly impossible to acquire by mere mortal owner/enthusiasts like me.
But desire is a powerful force. Ford took their new GT back to Le Mans and hundreds of GT Forum true believers were on hand to witness another epic Ford/Ferrari battle resulting in the GT’s victory. This time all of our desire came to fruition and I believe it is that desire combined with the loyalty and ferocious devotion of our Ford GT community that led the Ford family and Raj Nair to give many current Ford GT owners an opportunity to acquire one of these rare, historic, and very special automobiles.
Today we can announce that 4 Ford GT Forum Members will be among the very first individuals to take delivery of a new Ford GT. Those 4 members have finalized their personal specifications and signed contracts. They are David Bannister, Tomy Hamon, Brian Stormer, and Chip Beck. I am humbled, I am honored, and I am thankful.
I also have trouble believing it. But what I do believe more than ever, is that if you want something badly enough, life will give you a second chance. How cool is that?
I know I speak for every one who has been chosen to own a new Ford GT when I say thank you in the most sincere way to the Ford family, to Raj, and to the entire Ford Team. And for his tireless work on our behalf, our endless gratitude to David Bannister.
All the best.
Chip Beck
Moderator
Ford GT Forum
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