It all started when Henry Ford II tried to buy Ferrari to boost Ford Motor Company. But Enzo Ferrari said “no.” It’s long overdue that we get to see automotive legends Ford and Ferrari in a biopic about the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans road race. Ford worked with Lee Iacocca to direct a team of engineers and designers to build a car for Ford to compete with Ferrari, and the result was the GT40 Mark II. At the June 18-19, 1966, Le Mans they would face off. It’s a legendary battle so good it’s getting two titles for the big screen: Ford v. Ferrari in the U.S. and Le Mans ′66 everywhere else. James Mangold, who has directed some brilliant movies, including Cop Land and Logan, is directing the coming film, so it’s going to be an easy pick to see when it arrives in theaters this November.
It was the subject of a 2009 book, Go Like Hell, and the 2016 documentary based on that book, The 24-Hour War. But the leads in this version seem to be not the legendary opponents in the battle, Ford and Ferrari, but Matt Damon as racecar driver-turned-designer Carroll Shelby of Shelby Mustang fame, and Christian Bale as Daytona and Sebring winning driver Ken Miles. These were the days of racing when every other name would become a racing legend, names like A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Jackie Stewart, and Lloyd Ruby. Playing Iacocca is Jon Bernthal (The Punisher, The Walking Dead), with Tracy Letts (Homeland, The Post) as Ford, and Remo Girone (Live by Night) as Ferrari. Rounding out the cast are Caitriona Balfe, Josh Lucas, Noah Jupe, and Ray McKinnon. (While you’re waiting for the movie, check out the LEGO kit).
Beyond the fictional stories in Steve McQueen’s 1971 movie Le Mans and Tom Cruise’s 1990 movie Days of Thunder, here is the first trailer for 20th Century Fox’s adaptation of the events leading to the 1966 24-hour race, Ford v. Ferrari aka Le Mans ′66:
