Ford opens vault to public sale uncommon 2006 GT Heritage Edition

• Ford Motor and Barrett-Jackson will public sale the 2006 Ford GT Heritage Edition Production No. 3 on Saturday.
• The automobile is considered one of just some 4,000 made, nevertheless it has by no means been pushed and was owned solely by Ford Motor Co.
• Ford will maintain the proceeds to make use of to take care of and restore its present Heritage Fleet.

Ford Motor Co. is opening its non-public vault of automobiles, for the primary time ever, to promote a uncommon supercar to the general public at public sale.

The plan is to make use of all the cash raised from the public sale of the automobile to renovate and preserve the opposite automobiles in Ford’s Heritage Fleet in addition to put together its GT assortment in England for Le Mans subsequent yr. Also, Ford mentioned this can be the primary of different vehicles within the fleet to be provided to the general public for buy, the automaker mentioned on Oct. 13.

On Saturday, Oct. 18, at about 4 p.m. ET, Barrett-Jackson Auction Co. and Ford will public sale the 2006 Ford GT Heritage Edition Production No. 3 (Lot No. 1026) through the Scottsdale Fall Auction at WestWorld of Scottsdale, Arizona. The automobile can be auctioned with “no reserve.” It is the earliest Heritage Edition to ever be launched to the general public.

Ford spokeswoman Hallie Robinson instructed the Detroit Free Press, a part of the USA TODAY Network, on Oct. 13: “No reserve means the item for sale will be sold to the highest bidder. The proceeds of the sale will go toward the restoration and maintenance of the Ford Heritage Fleet.”

In March, Ford gave the Detroit Free Press and a few others a sneak peek at about 50 of the five hundred automobiles in Ford’s Heritage Fleet. Ford retains about 175 of them inside a large storage at Ford’s World Headquarters on Michigan Avenue.

In one nook of the storage is the 2018 Ford F-150 Lightning All-Electric Prototype, the automobile that famously pulled greater than 1 million kilos of freight rail vehicles in a 2019 tv industrial. There is the 1938 V8 Ambulance utilized by the Belmar, New Jersey, First Aid Squad, a predecessor to Ford’s profitable police automobile enterprise at the moment. There is the fiftieth anniversary version Mustang that famously topped the Empire State Building and rather more. Besides the Dearborn assortment, different automobiles are saved at Ford websites in England, Germany and Australia.

“When we announced the Ford Heritage Fleet earlier this year, we knew that we had some amazing vehicles that are duplicates and outside our collecting scope,” Ted Ryan, Ford’s Heritage and Brand Manager, mentioned in a press release. “Thanks to our partners at Barrett Jackson, we’re selling the 2006 Heritage Edition No. 3 Ford GT in Epic Orange and Heritage Blue.”

Ryan indicated Ford may sell more vehicles from the collection by adding that the sale of the Ford GT is “the first of several vehicles that will benefit the amazing cars we identified for permanent retention in the Ford Heritage Fleet.”

‘Automotive historical past’ this weekend

Barrett-Jackson describes the automobile because the “earliest example of a 2006 GT Heritage Edition ever released to the public.” Separately, Barrett-Jackson will also auction a 1968 Ford Mustang Licensed Eleanor twenty fifth Anniversary Limited Edition and a 1969 Ford Bronco on the occasion. There are two further GTs to be auctioned as nicely.

But on condition that 2006 Ford GT Heritage Edition Production No. 3 was solely owned and used solely by Ford and is the earliest Heritage Edition instance launched to the general public, this public sale can be particular. 

“We look forward to making automotive history with Ford Motor Company during our Scottsdale Fall Auction,” Craig Jackson, CEO of Barrett-Jackson, mentioned in a press release. “Ford is opening its company vault to offer an unbelievable vehicle, the 2006 Ford GT Heritage Edition Production No. 3. The vehicle is part of a sensational docket of Blue Oval and Shelby collectible vehicles that represent some of the best in American automotive performance and design.”

As to how a lot this automobile will fetch at public sale, Barrett-Jackson spokesman Scott Black instructed the Detroit Free Press: “Barrett-Jackson does not offer estimates or values of the cars that go across the block. There have been three generations of street and race Ford GTs: 1964-1969, 2005-2006 and 2017-2022.”

The incontrovertible fact that the GT from the Heritage Fleet is in like-new situation, it may doubtlessly promote for $800,000 to $1 million, John Wiley, director of valuation analytics at basic automobile insurance coverage firm Hagerty, instructed the Detroit Free Press.

Ford mentioned the automobile has 8,435 miles on the odometer as a result of journalists have pushed it over time.

Wiley added that Barrett-Jackson is sweet at producing pleasure for the automobiles, so this automobile may get much more than that his $800,000 to $1 million estimate.

According to a Barrett-Jackson press release from its fall public sale in 2024, a 2006 Ford GT (Lot No. 758) bought for $423,500. But the uncommon and distinctive vehicles can go for lots extra, for instance, at that very same public sale, The Red Rocker, Sammy Hagar’s, 2015 Ferrari LaFerrari (Lot No. 760) bought for a whopping $4.675 million.

At the Barrett-Jackson fall auction 2023, a 2005 Ford GT Hennessey 1000 (Lot No. 725) bought for $495,000 and 2005 Ford GT (Lot No. 735) bought for $418,000 on the public sale block.

Ford’s Heritage fleet: Former Ford seller, 102, excursions automaker’s uncommon automobile assortment at firm HQ

Ford’s specfic use of the proceeds

It is just not frequent for an automaker to promote a automobile from its non-public assortment, however when it does it often yields large bucks, Wiley mentioned.

In May 2022, Mercedes-Benz bought its 1955 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe from its non-public assortment for world document value of $143 million at an invite-only public sale by RM Sotherby’s held in Germany. The automobile was considered one of simply two constructed. The cash was used to ascertain a scholarship fund.

Also in Europe, Wiley mentioned, some importer automakers’ subsidiaries have bought off a whole heritage fleet as a result of they want the cash or cannot afford to maintain the vehicles any longer.

“I don’t think for Ford it’s because they need the money for one car,” Wiley mentioned. “If they announced they were sellling 100 cars, that might mean they need the money, but one car is not meaningful.”

He mentioned Ford has auctioned off a few of its idea vehicles up to now. A 2004 Ford Shelby Cobra idea nicknamed Daisy bought for $2.64 million at a 2021 Mecum Auction and Ford stored the proceeds, Wiley mentioned. He mentioned the GT is just not as distinctive as this Cobra idea.

Ford’s Ryan instructed the Free Press, in a written response to inquiries as to how a lot Ford hopes to get from the sale of the automobile, the annual price to revive and preserve the Heritage Fleet and if Ford is in dire straits that it must dump property to lift the cash to maintenance its automobiles, the next:

“For the sale price and restoration costs, we don’t typically share those specific internal numbers. Our main goal here isn’t about hitting a specific dollar amount, but really about making sure this incredible piece of Ford history goes to someone who will cherish and preserve it for years to come. It’s more about its legacy than just the ledger for us,” Ryan mentioned.

Ryan mentioned Ford has an enormous and wealthy heritage fleet, and a part of “smart stewardship is occasionally making strategic decisions about which vehicles might thrive best with a private collector.”

By promoting off a sure automobile, he mentioned, it permits the automaker to focus its sources on different heritage tasks, future improvements, and the continued care of the remainder of the gathering.

“In fact, some of the proceeds from this sale will be used to get our Ford of England GT collection in superb running shape for the 60^th anniversary of Le Mans next year,” Ryan mentioned. “It’s a deliberate choice to ensure these historical assets continue to be celebrated.”

He described the automobile as a “rolling embodiment of our racing legacy.”

Features of this automobile

Barrett-Jackson’s media launch describes the automobile as being, “Finished in the iconic Gulf Oil livery,” in different phrases its Epic Orange and Heritage Blue, to pay tribute to Ford’s racing legacy.

It has a supercharged V8 engine producing 550 horsepower and 500 ft/lbs of torque, paired with a 6-speed handbook transmission. Included with the sale is a Certificate of Authenticity and the unique “Build Book,” which paperwork the automobile’s meeting from begin to end, Barrett-Jackson mentioned.

Ford added that when the GT launched, varied media retailers reported that the it went 0-60 in 3.4 seconds and achieved an 11.2-second quarter mile, whereas having a high pace of over 200 mph. The automaker mentioned it produced solely 4,038 Ford GTs between 2005 and 2006, making it a desired automobile.

“For the iconic supercar’s final sendoff, Ford developed the Heritage Package in Epic Orange and Heritage Blue for the 2006 model year,” Ford wrote of the automobile. “The Heritage paint livery remembers the JW Automotive/American Gulf Oil-sponsored Le Mans-winning Ford GT racer.”

Ford mentioned the Heritage Package was a $13,000 choice that appeared on solely 343 vehicles due to the effort and time it took to color the intricate design and a number of colours on the automobile.

Also, the 4 white “roundels” on the automobile had been painted, however the Heritage Package got here with a field of black vinyl numbers 0-9 that had been shipped with the automobile in order that prospects may apply the variety of their selection.

“The unique paint scheme of the Heritage Package, one of the most memorable looks in Ford racing history, make it the most desirable and sought after Ford GT version today,” Ford mentioned in a information launch.

What else is perhaps within the vault?

The story of Ford begins in a storage, with Henry Ford’s creation of the Quadricycle at his dwelling in 1896, Ryan mentioned. Now, 129 years later, Ford honors that legacy with its Heritage Fleet.

But earlier than final yr, heritage automobiles had been scattered throughout the globe with no centralized group.

“At the request of Ford CEO Jim Farley, I began to search for heritage vehicles already in our possession to understand the breadth of our collection,” Ryan said. “We created the Ford Heritage Fleet as a valuable resource for designers and engineers to shape the future by drawing inspiration from the best of the company’s past.”

The Ford Heritage Collection is supposed to doc Ford’s historical past, from its workers to key improvements, design breakthroughs, racing milestones and its function in in style tradition.

“It also serves as an inspiration at Ford when creating the next generation of vehicles,” Ryan mentioned within the launch. “Opening Ford’s Heritage Fleet allows us to share a tangible piece of our performance history directly with the enthusiasts who cherish it most.”

Ryan mentioned this 2006 Ford GT presents a possibility for somebody to personal a chunk of Ford historical past and assist assist the preservation of the remainder of the gathering.

But in case you miss a possibility to get this automobile, there might or is probably not extra, Hagerty’s Wiley mentioned, “because it’s a vault I don’t think anybody really knows what’s in there, so it could be ‘a stay tuned.’ Or maybe Ford decides they don’t need to sell any other cars or don’t want to sell any more.”

Anyone excited by bidding on the Ford GT Production No. 3 can register to take action at www.barrett-jackson.com/bidders.

Jamie L. LaReau is the senior autos author who covers Ford Motor Co. for the Detroit Free Press. Contact Jamie at jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. To join our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber