Ford nods to anniversary of special milestone with four new cars ... for France

Yesterday we touched on the fact that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the first and only all-Kiwi 24 Hours of Le Mans victory, taken by Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon. It, for many reasons, was also a hugely historic win for Ford — defeating the might of arch rivals Ferrari with their emphatic 1-2-3 finish. 

It's fitting therefore for Ford to back up their 2016 return to Le Mans with four limited edition tribute cars — the Fiesta ST, Focus ST, Focus RS, and V8 Mustang — all of which proudly wear the same simplistic racing livery as McLaren and Amon's GT40.

The 50th anniversary package will be offered on only 50 of each model, and will (sadly) only be offered in the home country of the Le Mans event; France. On top of a paint scheme and a limited edition, each car also receives a selection of external badges, as well as a unique interior plaque. Another bonus is that anyone who buys one before next month's 24 Hour torture test will go into the draw to win VIP access to the event.

Each car also receives a little bit of extra love on the options list, by way of various 'packs' coming as standard. The Fiesta scores the Performance and Parking packs, which add new 17-inch alloy wheels, parking aids, and red brake callipers. Both Focus' (Focii?) gain the City Pack as standard, while the RS also gets the Comfort and Premium packs as standard — which includes the range-topping Ford sound system, and a speed limiter. Last but not least, the Mustang, gets its own Premium Pack, which features new 19-inch wheels and a leather interior, among other changes.

Prices on the quad of cars step up as a result, with the cheapest car of the four — the Fiesta — priced at €27,200 (45,000NZD). At the other end of the scale is the Mustang, which is priced at €47,100 (78,000NZD).