Ford has announced a major rebranding of its global motorsports division, returning to the historic name of Ford Racing.
The move, effective immediately, sees the company’s high-performance arm, formerly known as Ford Performance, shift its focus to a more direct link between its race teams and the development of its road-going vehicles.
The Ford Ranger Raptor is the only UK commercial vehicle in the Ford vans range that has been developed under the Ford Performance brand, but Ford Racing will continue to develop on future production vehicles including a possible Ranger Raptor successor.
The change was announced in a letter to employees by Will Ford, General Manager of Ford Racing and great-great-grandson of company founder Henry Ford.
Ford said that the rebranding is "not a marketing exercise," but a commitment to a new mission, to integrate racing technology and engineering directly into consumer products. This strategy echoes the company’s origins, dating back to Henry Ford's 1901 victory in a race with a car named "Sweepstakes," a win that helped secure the funding to establish the Ford Motor Company.
Ford Performance was also responsible for the development of the Ford Transit Supervan 4, which has set numerous records including at Pike's Peak, where it was beaten the following year by the Ford Super Truck.
Under the new unified Ford Racing banner, engineers and designers will work on both race cars and production vehicles simultaneously. Ford has said that lessons learned from off-road endurance races like the Baja 1000 will be applied to vehicles like the F-150 Raptor, while aerodynamic advancements from Le Mans will influence the design of the Mustang.
The first production vehicle to be developed under the Ford Racing identity is set to debut in January, coinciding with the start of the new racing season at events like the Dakar Rally and the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
Ford will continue to compete at the highest levels of global motorsport, including Formula 1 where it will develop engines for Red Bull, the World Rally Championship, and the World Endurance Championship.
