Shelby American and Superformance have joined forces to build a series of 20 Ford GT Mk. II recreations finished in historic 1966 Le Mans color schemes. The price? Around $230,000. Get all the latest auto industry news in the Executive Briefing.
Today’s headlines:
+ Ford Motor Co. reports that it earned $1.9 billion in the fourth quarter and a record $7.4 billion for the year, based on a pre-tax profit of $10.4 billion. More at The Detroit News.
+ Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne says the Dodge Dart and Chrysler 200 sedans will be discontinued as the automaker focuses on the Jeep and Ram brands in North America. More at WZZM 13 Grand Rapids.
+ General Motors has created an engineering and business team to focus on autonomous vehicle development, reporting to Mark Reuss, head of global product development. More at the Detroit Free Press.
+ Ford dealers are taking big markups over sticker price for the Mustang Shelby GT350 and GT350R, which are limited to 137 total units for the year. More at Yahoo! Autos.
+ Driver Kevin Magnussen reportedly is set to replace Pastor Maldonado at Renault for the 2016 Formula 1 season, partnered with English rookie Jolyon Palmer. More at Sky Sports.
+ Takata Corp. says chairman and CEO Shigehisa Takada is prepared to resign to demonstrate the airbag maker’s commitment to resolving its product recall crisis. More at Reuters.
+ GM’s Opel division has unveiled a new Opel GT concept in advance of the Geneva Auto Show in March, but says it has no plans to develop the vehicle for production. More at Carscoops.
+ Researchers at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) have determined that automated emergency braking systems reduce rear-end crashes by 40 percent. More at Autoblog.
+ To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Ford GT’s victory at Le Mans, Superformance and Shelby American will produce a 20-car run of authentic 1966 Ford GT Mk. II replicas. More at Hemmings Daily.
+ With the departure of partner Wink Hartman, the IndyCar teams of Sarah Fisher and Ed Carpenter, which merged in 2015, have again parted ways. More at National Speed Sport News.
+ Citing poor sales and difficult market conditions, Ford Motor Co. will pull out of the Japan and Indonesia markets, stating there is “no reasonable path to profitability” in the two countries. More at BBC News.
Read the previous Executive Briefing from January 25 here.
Photo courtesy of Shelby American.
How do you register a 1966 basically racing car 50 years later.Nothing will comply with modern production rules. Either that or you have a 50 y/o race car that is a trailer queen.