Summary
- The movie Ford v Ferrari left out Ford's 1964 Le Mans race, showcasing just their 1965 and 1966 attempts.
- While the film depicts a neck-and-neck race, Ferrari actually performed poorly in the 1966 Le Mans compared to Ford.
- The conflict between Ford and Ken Miles in Ford v Ferrari was overblown; Ford had no problem with Miles driving.
Ford v Ferrari tells the incredible true story of the iconic car manufacturer's rivalry at the 1966 Le Mans race, but leaves out some notable details that could've had a place in the film. One of the better films to come from director James Mangold, the sports drama stars Matt Damon as Carroll Shelby, a famous American racecar builder, and Christian Bale as Ken Miles, a talented driver, who both lend their efforts to help Ford outpace Ferrari in the 24 hour Le Mans race. In the 60s, Ford and Ferrari had a bitter rivalry on both the racetrack and the boardroom.
To give credit where credit is due, Ford v Ferrari is one of the most accurate biopics made in recent years, making a painstaking effort to stay true to the real events of the automotive giants' feud. But like any film based on true events, some small liberties had to be taken in order to condense history into a satisfying 2-and-a-half hour narrative. Sadly, several important details of the true drama were lost in translation.
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10 Ford V Ferrari Left Out An Entire Year of Le Mans
'65 and '66 weren't the only years Ford threw their hat in the ring
The film depicts Ford's earliest efforts at entering the prestigious Le Mans 24-hour race, a grueling endurance test that had previously been gatekept by elite European automotive manufacturers. Like any good sports drama, Ford v Ferrari has its underdog protagonists stumble once before overtaking their historic opponents, in the 1965 and 1966 Le Mans races, respectively. However, the film actually glosses over Ford's first year of racing at Le Mans in 1964.
Before 1965, Ford took a crack at the historic automotive marathon in 1964, with similarly poor results. It's understandable why the film cut out this repeat year of failure, being more or less a recap of Ford's shortcomings in the preceding year. That being said, some significant development occured over Ford's two Le Mans losses, which might've contributed to Ford v Ferrari's narrative.
9 Ferrari Did Much Worse In The 1966 Race
The real Le Mans wasn't so neck-and-neck
Like all the best car racing movies, the climax of Ford v Ferrari sports a neck-and-neck showdown between Ken Miles and his rival racer at Ferrari, Lorenzo Bandini against the dramatic sunrise of the Mulsanne Straight. The last leg of the film depicts a close duel for supremacy at dawn, with Miles able to barely out-maneuver his Italian opponents in the end, though he loses the race overall to a controversial ruling giving McLaren the trophy. In reality, the results of the '66 race were far less flattering for Ferrari.
The inter-Ford fighting would've been a dramatic inclusion for the film to make.
In reality, the 1966 race saw the number 21 Ferrari car all the way back in 12th place by midday. In contrast, it was the number 3 Ford GT40, driven by fellow Americans Dan Gurney and Jerry Grant, that presented Miles' second-biggest competition on the track. The inter-Ford fighting would've been a dramatic inclusion for the film to make, as the pair made a break for Miles against orders, but not giving team Ferrari a fierce final showing in the film would've defeated the purpose of the very title.
8 Ford Had No Problem With Miles Driving In '66
The feud between Ford's driver and their corporate suits was overblown
The conflict between Ford and Ferrari themselves wasn't the only conflict depicted in the film. Ford v Ferrari displays a fair amount of infighting between Ford's corporate leadership and the scrappy efforts of Carroll Shelby and driver Ken Miles in particular. Miles' brash personality, even for a racecar driver, is seen as a dangerous liability by the suits of the Blue Oval in the movie, making him nearly disqualified from racing in the 1966 Le Mans race. Shelby is able to get around this due to a brave bet on Miles' success in Daytona.
In reality, this gambit never occurred, and Ford didn't have so much of a problem with Miles. Not only was he given the green light to put the pedal to the metal in 1966, but he even raced for Ford in the 1965 Le Mans race, though he didn't finish due to technical issues revolving around his vehicle's transmission. The true story of Miles being more-or-less a shoo-in for Ford's roster in 1966 isn't as dramatic as the events portrayed in the movie.
7 The Technology Of The GT40 Was Overlooked
Somehow, Ford v Ferrari' understated the supercar's importance
The genius behind Ford's Le Mans success in 1966 and the subsequent decade, Carroll Shelby became an iconic name in motorsport for a good reason. Ford v Ferrari made his GT40 design one of the most iconic cars in film, echoing the real-world importance of the vehicle in Ford's legacy. Yet the film somehow understated just how revolutionary the design of Shelby's magnum opus was.
If the movie was to be believed, the legendary racecar was manufactured on an airfield with a box of scraps, playing up Shelby's ingenious nature and ability to jury-rig record-breaking cars with limited resources. In reality, the technology that went into creating the Ford GT40 was nothing less than cutting edge for the time, with the motor being put through simulations of the Le Mans race thanks to advanced engine dynamometers and the suspension being calibrated with the help of a primordial computer program. Ford truly spared no expense with the GT40's development.