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The Living Legends Tour is an annual series of summer events in which Ford supplies a catalyst of exciting cars that draw together automotive enthusiasts. Each year, the tour features something new and different. In 2000, the American Dream Car Tour traveled across the United States with three classic late-1950s Thunderbirds. After making appearances in 144 cities and towns, the three dream cars were raffled off to lucky enthusiasts who registered during the three-month tour. Last year, the 2001 Living Legends Tour hit 48 States and Canada, bringing all-new Thunderbirds and Mustangs to picnics, parties and parades across North America This summer, automotive enthusiasts of all stripes will want to watch for the specially prepared, Living Legends car hauler as it weaves its way across the country. On board are Ford's Living Legends: the classic Ford Forty-Nine concept, the all-new Ford Thunderbird, the 2003 Mustang Mach 1 and, never before seen, 2003 Mustang Pony. The star of the tour is Ford's GT40 concept, an award-winning supercar project that will become a reality in 2003, as Ford Motor Company celebrates its centennial year. "The Living Legends are unlike any vehicles in world - no company can match Ford's richly diverse automotive heritage," says J Mays, Ford vice president of Design. "These are the classics that make car lovers out of all of us. And to see them together in a group is quite an opportunity. They will create some excitement on the road this summer." Ford's Living Legends Studio is a modern-day reflection of a legendary "skunkworks" team established in the early 1950s to develop a vehicle to compete with a roadster from a cross-town rival. This dedicated, small team of enthusiasts toiled after hours in a quiet corner of a Ford design studio in Dearborn, Mich. From their efforts was born a vehicle that today is considered a classic among classics: the 1955 Ford Thunderbird. Today's Living Legends Studio - officially established in July 2000 - has more than one project on its plate. The studio serves as curator of Ford's classic nameplates, developing ideas and concepts for existing and new products - the future Legends - and guaranteeing that car enthusiasts will always be able to look to Ford for the great American dream cars. Ford's Thunderbird and Mustang, Forty-Nine and GT40 concepts are all Living Legends projects. The Tour The 2002 Living Legends Tour will bring the excitement of the Living Legends Studio to America's backyard. It will make stops at key automotive gatherings such as Fun Ford Weekends, NASCAR Winston Cup events, No Boundaries Experience weekends and a select few Mustang Club of America meetings. Once the Legends are on display, they will quickly become the epicenter of excitement, as at least one of the vehicles on board is so new that relatively few people have seen it in person. Indeed, the GT40 concept debuted in January 2002 and has been shown in public at a select few auto shows. In February, Ford announced plans to build a production version of the 500-horsepoower, two-seat supercar in very limited numbers. The Legends Tour schedule*: June 1 - 2 Los Angeles June 6 - 9 San Francisco June 12 - 16 Tulsa, OK - MID-AMERICA MEET June 27 -28 Washington, D.C. June 29 - 30 Richmond, VA - Fun Ford Weekend July 4-6 Daytona Beach, FL July 11-14 Norwalk, OH - Fun Ford Weekend July 18-21 Loudon, NH (Cancelled) July 25-28 Watkins Glen, NY (Painted Post, NY) Aug. 1-4 Bristol, TN Aug. 2 Nashville, Tenn. at the Country Music Hall of Fame Aug. 3-4 Bristol, Tenn. at the Bristol Dragway Fun Ford Weekend Aug. 8-11 Fort Worth, Texas at the Yellow Rose Classic Car Show (Mustang Club of America) Aug. 17-18 Berkley, Mich. at Woodward Ave. (Woodward Dream Cruise) Aug. 28-Sept. 1 Charlotte, NC at Lowes Motor Speedway (Thunder in Carolina Grand National Mustang Show)
Sept. 6 Chicago, Ill. at T.B.D. location
The Cars
Source: FoMoCo 2002 |
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Forty-Nine
Concept: In 1949, postwar America was ready for an automotive design
revolution. It came in the form of the 1949 Ford, the first new design
from Ford following World War II. Fifty years later, the all-new Ford
Forty-Nine custom coupe concept made its debut at the 2001 North American
International Auto Show in Detroit. The sleek, black Forty-Nine concept
harkens back to the romance of a Friday night at the drive-in or bowling
alley, listening to rock-and-roll and cruising the strip in a chopped and
channeled custom car.
GT40
concept: It was in France, in the mid-1960s, that the great American
supercar came to life. A low-slung, muscular racing car built to win on
the legendary Le Mans race circuit, the GT40 project was spearheaded by
company Chairman and CEO Henry Ford II. His goal was to change performance
car history. And he did. The GT40 beat the world's best in endurance
racing, placing 1-2-3 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966 and winning the
next three consecutive years.
Thunderbird:
The classic American dream car debuted in 1955 and quickly achieved
celebrity status. For 42 years, from 1955 to 1997, Thunderbirds of many
shapes and sizes graced the American road. Yet one era stood out among
them all in the fond memories of automotive enthusiasts - the 1950s.
Immortalized in movies and on the small screen, this era's Thunderbirds
created a style all themselves that was never quite repeated or replaced.
Mustang
Mach 1: On April 17, 1964, Ford's Mustang rolled onto the streets and
changed the automotive world. With its low profile, long hood and short
rear deck, Mustang promised performance, style and enough options for
buyers to express their own personality. The original Mustang is still
considered one of the greatest automotive success stories of all time.