To that end, Mangold asked his stars to do as much of the driving as they could with real vehicles on real tracks. “It was important because I wanted the audience to feel the vibration of the engine, the bolts rattling in the chassis. To understand how hard the vehicle is being pushed, and how close it is to exploding.”
Cars for the film were built, borrowed or rented. Among them a one-of-a-kind polished aluminium Daytona Coupé, and several historical vehicles that the Automobile Club de l’Ouest loaned from its museum, including a Ford GT40 MKI and an ultra-rare CD SP66 Peugeot. (Only three CD SP66s still exist). Many of the film’s race cars were made by Superformance, while JPS Motorsports in North Hollywood built several Porsche Speedster replicas. In all, 34 custom race cars were built for the film.
Before shooting began, Christian Bale, who drives both a Shelby Cobra and a variety of Ford GT40s on screen, trained with veteran stunt coordinator and driver Robert Nagle. Nagle was impressed: “Christian was very much into it and had a strong aptitude for it. I’d say he’s the best actor I’ve ever trained for driving.”
A total of 34 custom cars were built for Ford v Ferrari to create the racing scenes. This ‘Willow Springs’ race is actually at a Honda test track. Bale (Ken Miles) even trained with pro stunt drivers
Naturally, the biggest production challenge was recreating the various racing sequences, up to and including the climactic restaging of the 1966 Le Mans race. But although Le Mans is still an annual event, the current track no longer resembles its 1966 incarnation.
“It looks more like Charles de Gaulle Airport than what it once was, which was a homespun, simple thing,” said Mangold. “It was a set of country roads connected in a loop with a few quaint grandstands. The magic of that, driving at 200mph in the most cutting-edge race car prototypes on a series of French country roads through day, night, rain, sleet, dawn, dusk—doing that for 24 hours in one vehicle seemed like the most powerful thing we could try to convey.”
Like the other races in the film, Le Mans was recreated in the US. (Daytona scenes were filmed at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Willow Springs at a Honda test track in Mojave Valley and Dearborn at the Porsche Experience in Carson). The Le Mans sequence featured the largest set constructed for the film: a full-scale historical recreation of the start-finish grandstands, along with three large segments of grandstands, VIP boxes, the Ford and Ferrari pits, and the press box, all of which was built at Agua Dulce Airpark, a private airport in Santa Clarita.
“I wanted that idea of racing for 24 hours to dawn on you, to feel what it would be like”
James Mangold, director
In addition, three locations in rural towns in Georgia were used to portray the country road course as it would have looked back in 1966, including a stretch of Route 46 in Statesboro, the Grand Prize of America Race Track in Hutchinson Island and Road Atlanta in Braselton.
Over five miles of roads were dressed to recreate sections of the Circuit de la Sarthe, such as the Mulsanne Straight, Tertre Rouge, the Esses, Arnage and the Dunlop Bridge, with hundreds of period-correct banners.
This vast endeavour was essential because, as Mangold observed: “The last 40 minutes of the film is predominantly this race and I really wanted you to feel like you were hunkered down and living in it — I wanted that idea of racing for 24 hours to dawn on you, to feel what that really would be like trying to drive faster than any man for longer than you can stay awake.”
Having spent so much effort recreating the track, the filmmakers also had to devise exactly how they were going to actually film the sequences, with Mangold intent on infusing character into the driving moments. He didn’t want the spectacle to overtake the human drama so opted for a traditional approach. No exaggerated or unnatural camera movements were allowed. The Fast and the Furious, this wasn’t. Instead camera techniques of the period were employed, with both the 1966 sports drama Grand Prix and Steve McQueen’s 1971 film Le Mans serving as references to ensure the focus always remained on the characters.
The thoughtful approach paid off. Audiences flocked to see this analogue film in a digital world. It made over $225 million globally — not bad for a film with no superheroes or Jedis. Critics were equally enamoured. The National Board of Review named it one of the 10 best films of the year and there were BAFTA, Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations, including for Best Picture. Ultimately, by embracing the past, Ford v Ferrari isn’t a film that breaks the mould, but it is one that can sit amongst the great racing movies.
Why Ford Distanced Itself from The Film
Ford’s Lack of Interaction with The Le Mans ’66 Movie Was Notable by Its Absence, Says Jake Williams-Smith
It Was Hard to Miss the Publicity Blitz Around the Le Mans ’66 film, but There Was One Place Where You Were Guaranteed to Find No Mention Whatsoever of The Movie: Ford’s Own Social Media Channels.
Despite It Throwing the Spotlight on Ford’s Historic Achievement, on November 15, the Day that The Film Was Released, Ford Uk Posted Nothing on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. One Clue as To This Detachment Was a Statement, Sent to Motor Sport saying: “we Hope Audiences Realise that Movies Often Employ a Bit of Dramatic License.”
The Company May Have Been Referring to The Casting of Leo Beebe, Ford’s Racing Director, as The Villain in The Tale of Henry Ford Ii’s Endorsed War Against the Italian Marque at Le Mans. Henry Ford Ii, Then Company President, Is Presented as A Bumbling Executive with No Understanding of Racing.
Though Ford Initially Provided Archive Material to Producers, It Was Not Involved Beyond This Stage. the Company Made Clear that The Film Had Received “no Official Backing from Ford”.
Ford’s statement added: “The Ford GT team’s triumph at Le Mans in ’66 was a proud moment in our history and we appreciate the interest in Ford’s racing heritage. It’s great that the movie is an entertaining throwback, sparking renewed interest in the history of Ford’s success at Le Mans, but of course we hope audiences realise that movies—even movies that are based on real events—often employ a bit of dramatic license.”