From the moment we entered the garage area at Meadow Brook, we felt Ford’s presence. Among the pristine Packard Twelves, Ferraris and Duesenbergs were a vintage Ford drag race car and a 2005 Ford GT supercar.

This media event was organized to promote the 30th anniversary of the Meadow Brook Concours d’Elegance, happening August 2, 2009, on the campus of Oakland University in Rochester Hills, Michigan. The event will include over 200 of the world’s finest historic automobiles.

A center piece of Ford’s involvement in the event is an original 2005 Ford GT supercar from the Ford Motor Company collection that will be offered through RM Auctions, with a portion of the proceeds to benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and its mission to find a cure for juvenile diabetes..

“The Ford GT represents the pinnacle of performance from Ford Motor Company and is a great opportunity for the savvy collector.  Ford is proud to support the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation efforts by including these early VIN Ford GTs at the RM auction in Meadow Brook and Monterey”, said Edsel B. Ford II, Board Director, Ford Motor Company.

First introduced at the 2002 New York Auto Show, the Ford GT is a true American supercar, built to commemorate Ford’s Centennial and its GT40 predecessor’s victories at Le Mans 24-Hour races in the 1960s. With its mid-mounted, 550-horsepower supercharged V8, the GT is one of an elite group of 200 mph, hand-crafted supercars that are prized by investment-minded collectors and driving enthusiasts.

The first car offered is the sixth vehicle from the initial production (YF400006) and is finished in vintage Mark IV red and white. This particular car will cross the auction block at RM’s 15th annual Vintage Motor Cars of Meadow Brook event, held on the estate’s Shotwell-Gustafson Pavilion in Rochester, Michigan on August 1, 2009. This single-day auction of 100 important collector cars is held in conjunction with the 30th anniversary of the Meadow Brook Concours d’Elegance.

The other Ford car at the event that caught our eye was the Super Mustang: an early drag race car now owned by Don Lyons. The car was originally built in 1966 with involvement from Ford to experiment with streamlining race cars and also to further explore mechanical fuel injection. Aerodynamic body work was created for the dragster and tested in Ford’s Dearborn wind tunnel facility. The car made its racing debut at the 1967 NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, California, with Tom McEwen at the wheel. The car is powered by a 426 cubic inch, Single Over Head Camshaft (SOHC) engine, and has posted a best quarter mile time of 8.28 seconds at 171 mph.

A handful of highlights of this year’s Meadow Brook Concours d’Elegance include:

• “The Best of Detroit” 80 Cars showcasing the best of Detroit design from the 1920’s through the 1960’s
• “The Early Years of Drag Racing” 12 Cars from the 1960’s explosion of Drag Racing, including: the “Dyno Don Nicholson” Comet; 4 early “Gassers” including one driven by Barbara Hamilton – who will be making a personal appearance – the first women to get an NHRA license to drive a “supercharged” car; the Super Mustang – special project from Ford Motor Company 
• “Fins and Chrome: The Convertibles of 1959″ A significant year in auto design, we’ll have 14 models all from 1959 and all convertibles

More information about the event can be found by visiting the Meadow Brook Concours d’Elegance by clicking here.

You can also find more information about RM Auctions and all of its upcoming event by clicking here.

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