Ford v Ferrari Monologues

American car designer Carroll Shelby and driver Ken Miles battle corporate interference and the laws of physics to build a revolutionary race car for Ford in order to defeat Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966.

There's a point at 7,000 RPM... where everything fades. The machine becomes weightless. Just disappears. And all that's left is a body moving through space and time. 7,000 RPM. That's where you meet it. You feel it coming. It creeps up on you, close in your ear. Asks you a question. The only question that matters. Who are you?

We're lighter, we're faster, and if that don't work, we're nastier.

Well, sir… I was thinking about that very question as I sat out there in your lovely waiting room.

As I was sitting there… I watched that little red folder right there go through four pairs of hands… before it got to you. 'Course that doesn't include the 22 or so other Ford employees who probably poked at it before it made its way up to the 19th floor. All due respect, sir, you can't win a race by committee. You need one man in charge. Now, the good news, as I see it, is that even with all the extra weight, we still manage to put old Mr. Ferrari exactly where we want him.

Well... sure, we hadn't... We haven't worked out how to corner yet. Or stay cool. Or stay on the ground. And a lot of stuff broke. In fact, the only thing that didn't break was the brakes. Hell, right now, we don't even know if our paint job will last the whole 24 hours.

But our last lap… we clocked 218 miles an hour down the Mulsanne Straight. Now, in all his years of racing… old Enzo ain't never seen anything move that fast. And now he knows, without a doubt, we're faster than he is. Even with the wrong driver… and all the committees. And that's what he's thinking about while he's sitting in Modena, Italy, right now. That man is scared to death… that this year, you actually might be smart enough to start trusting me. So, yeah. I say you got Ferrari exactly where you want him. You're welcome.

When I was 10 years old, my Pops said, son it's a truly lucky man who knows what he wants to do in this world. 'Cause that man will never work a day in his life.

My name is Carroll Shelby and performance is my business.

Thank you. Well, if my daddy was here today, he'd tell me to sit on down and leave the yakking to the college boys so, like my cars, I'll make this fast. When I was 10 years old, Pops said to me, 'Son, it's a truly lucky man who knows what he wants to do in this world. 'Cause that man will never work a day in his life.' But there are a few, a precious few, and, hell, I don't know if they're lucky or not. But there are a few people who find something they have to do. Something obsesses 'em. Something that if they can't do it, it's gonna drive them clean out of their mind. I'm that guy. And I know one other man feels exactly the same. His name...

His name is Mr. Henry Ford.

And together, we're gonna build the fastest automobiles in the world.

And we're gonna make history too, at Le Mans.

My name is Carroll Shelby. I build race cars.