Ford Motor Company may be one of the oldest automobile manufacturers in the world, but it certainly isn’t old-fashioned when it comes to adopting new technologies. The Detroit auto major recently announced its foray into self-driving cars that it hopes will revolutionize the taxi market, and now the company has launched a virtual reality app for smartphones that will showcase the new Ford GT and its performance at Le Mans. The app is already available for download for Android devices on the Google Play Store, and is compatible with Google Cardboard. iPhone owners should also be able to download it from Apple’s App Store, and Ford is apparently also planning to bring it to Samsung’s Gear VR at some stage in the near future.
As for the content of the app, Ford says that they’ll mostly be 360-degree videos that will be best enjoyed through VR headsets, but should also be available for viewing on other platforms via standard media players. Sadly though, Ford only has one video on the app right now, but the company says it is planning to bring a whole host of new content to the app in the near future. Meanwhile, the first (and only) Ford VR release thus far, happens to be a short 360-degree video that takes viewers “behind the scenes, in the pits, and behind the wheel of the Ford GT at the 24 Hours of Le Mans”, but according to Ford, that’s just the beginning.
Going forward, the Ford VR app promises to deliver some more exciting content. The solitary video that’s now available on the app will be followed by VR content from the World Rallycross, where Ken Block and Andreas Bakkerud will be competing in a Ford Focus RSRX. With the app’s emphasis on content from the world of motor sports, Ford is also seeking to remind viewers about its recent triumph at the world’s toughest, most grueling endurance race at Le Mans, where the 2016 Ford GT finished 1-3-4 in a near repeat of the magical 1966 result, when the Ford GT40 Mk II finished 1-2-3 at the Circuit de la Sarthe. Ford, of course, went on to win at Le Mans four consecutive times from 1966 to 1969 with the GT40, making it one of the most admired sports cars of its generation.
