Ford Racing is heading to the train station. The Blue Oval’s racing arm is planning a huge event at the refurbished Michigan Central Station to coincide with the 2026 Detroit Auto Show. But the locomotion at this event won’t be on rails, it will be on pavement, dirt, and racetracks. Ford is planning to launch its F1 engine for the kickoff party, along with what it calls a brand new sports car.
The dramatic movie trailer voice in the teaser reads copy about all of the vehicles and events Ford Racing has planned to show off its plans for the next year, but just one gets our attention. At this special event, Ford Racing will unveil what it calls an all-new high-performance sports car.
Ford Racing shows teaser images of the new car, but between the wrap and the Viagra warning label tint on the video, it’s tough to tell what exactly we’re looking at. The white wheels are definitely an interesting touch, but that’s a cover hiding the real thing, not the actual wheels.
The name hints at a track car, and Ford Racing will have plenty of those at the event. But calling it a high-performance sports car has us believing it’s a road car. It’s something a little different for the brand, but it’s not unheard of.
Ford Racing was called Ford Performance until a change last year. The Ford GT, all of Ford’s Raptor models, and even the Explorer ST all fall under the Ford Racing banner now. But this one looks like it’s another high-performance Mustang.
The next-gen Ford GT supercar may actually be some sort of hyper-expensive off-roader.
The big car cover seems to be hiding a very GTD-like front end, and a wing that might even be larger than the one on the current car. We know that Ford CEO Jim Farley has made it clear he wants to go after the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 at the Nürburgring in Germany, and a GTD upgrade might be exactly the car with which to do it.
In contrast with that, the January 15 announcement seems almost boring. Sure, all of Ford’s 2026 racing cars will be there, and it looks like most of the drivers will be as well. Ford started out with a very scraggly-looking Daniel Ricciardo, but its NASCAR team drivers will be there along with drift racers, Dakar racers, and maybe even Max Verstappen. Ford Racing did, after all, show him in the video (coincidentally driving a Mustang).
We’re excited to see where Ford’s racing efforts will take it this year. The company has already hit the track ahead of the announcement, though, with one of the vehicles in the teaser.
That’s the Ford M-Sport Raptor T1, which is a T1-class vehicle made for World Rally-Raid Championship events. Think the Dakar rally, which has just started, and you’ve got the idea.
Ford Performance is at the ‘Ring, and it could be there for some gas and electric record attempts.
What could Ford deliver that’s better than the Mustang GTD? We’re not sure. But Ford has been to the Nürburgring recently. We thought it was testing some mild tweaks to the GTD to help it chase down that ‘Vette, but it might have been something more. CarBuzz will be at the party, so stay tuned for all the latest from Detroit.
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