Ford Gifts Its Mustang GT3 IMSA Factory Cars the Ghosts of Past Champion Racers

Over the past few days, American carmaker Ford has been on an all-out offensive meant to show us how someone properly celebrates the past. The focus of the Blue Oval's attention is the Mustang, a model which these days is celebrating a nice, round anniversary: its 60th birthday.

Ford is making a spectacle of the moment, announcing a series of new models (and by new models, I mean new interpretations of existing ones), but also a series of targeted publicity stunts meant to bring the Mustang into focus in the various markets it sells in.

On the new model front, Ford announced this week the launch of the California Special and Nite Pony Package for the Mustang sold in Europe, but also the introduction of the 60th Anniversary Package. We also got news of the order books for the Mustang Mach-E Rally being open, and then the Mustang GTD was confirmed to land in Europe.

But the Mustang is more than just a car for the masses. It's also a racer with quite a long list of achievements under its belt, and that had to be properly celebrated as well. Enter the Champion Spirit Livery.

That's the umbrella name Ford is using for the new paint schemes it is deploying on the Mustang GT3 IMSA factory race cars it will use this season on some American tracks. And it's a paint scheme meant to honor "some of the most iconic Mustang sports car racers of the past 60 years."

More specifically, no less than eight Ford racers are recognized through the color scheme, covering over three decades of Mustang dominance on various tracks around the world. Here's what they were all about.

Back in 1964, when the model was brand new in the world, the American muscle managed to stop Jaguar in its tracks and ended the British carmaker's dominance in the Tour de France for cars, a 10-day series of races that stretched for 3,500 miles (5,600 km). Two Mustangs, prepped by Alan Mann Racing, were on the starting line of the competition, snatching no less than nine trophies during the run.

One year later, a version of the Mustang GT350 modified with help from Shelby American climbed at the top of the SCCA B-Production championship, and stayed there for no less than three consecutive years.

Then, during the inaugural SCCA Trans-Am Series season which unfolded in 1966, a Shelby American Mustang managed to snatch the model's first Trans-Am victory at the Mid-America 300. Three more were to follow that year, and that secured the model the championship.

In 1970 it was the turn of the Mustang Boss 302 to leave its mark, and it did just that by winning six SCCA Trans-Am Series and landing Ford and its partners both the manufacturer's and driver's championships.

A decade and some change after that, in 1981, a special breed of Mustang the world got to know as the Zakspeed No. 6 turbocharged Miller Mustang competed in the GTX class. It didn't manage to snatch the win, but Ford decided to include it in the list of cars it honors this week because it marked "the launch of Ford's renewed effort in sports car racing."

In 1985 the Roush Mustang GTO managed to secure nine IMSA wins, and propelled Lynn St. James to the top of the pack in three races of the series, effectively making her the first woman to score wins in the competition.

Another car Ford chose to honor this week is the No. 11 Roush Mustang that raced to the win in the GTO class of the 1987 Daytona 24-hour race.

Last but not least comes the Roush All-Sport Mustang Cobra, which secured 11 consecutive wins during the 1997 SCCA Trans-Am season.

The ghosts of all the race cars mentioned above can be seen on today's factory IMSA GTD PRO Mustang GT3s that will race this year under the Ford Multimatic Motorsports banner. These ghosts come as a very colorful design that is meant to look "battle-worn" and are a "fusion of art and history."

Like it or not, this color scheme is what the Ford racers in IMSA will be wearing over the next few races. They will first be seen doing so at the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on the weekend of May 10, and later that same month at the Detroit Grand Prix.

Like all ghosts, the ones of past Mustang champion racers will not last for long. They will disappear from the Mustang GT3s, which will return to their normal livery just in time for the Watkins Glen race on the weekend of June 20.