Ford Performance is the name under which Ford Motor Company unified its global high-performance and motorsport operations from 2014 until 2025, when the division was rebranded as Ford Racing. The identity has evolved through several distinct visual phases, each tied to a broader organizational change.
Design and History
Ford Performance was created in 2014 when Ford merged its Ford Racing division with the Special Vehicle Team (SVT) and Team RS to form a unified global high-performance and motorsports entity.[1] The new organization was headed by Mustang chief engineer Dave Pericak and was intended to serve as an “innovation laboratory and test bed” for performance vehicles, parts, accessories, and experiences.[2]
In June 2023, Ford unveiled a new Ford Performance logo alongside the Mustang GT3 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The rebranding was done by renowned motorsports designer Troy Lee, who also designed the Mustang GT3’s race livery.[3] The traditional blue oval with “Ford Performance” in white lettering underneath was replaced with a mark branded simply “FP.”[3] Ford described the new mark as a “cleaner, simplified look” that would be used across car liveries, merchandise, apparel, display assets, parts, accessories, and advertising.[3] The rebranding was aimed at making Ford a lifestyle brand with a sporting mindset.[3]
In September 2025, Ford announced it was changing the name from Ford Performance to Ford Racing. The rebrand and new logo were announced in a letter to employees by Will Ford, the great-grandson of company founder Henry Ford.[4] The new logo consists of the stylized Ford in white lettering inside a solid blue oval, with the capitalized word “RACING” in a bold blue under the oval.[4] Will Ford described the change as “the wholesale reintroduction of our racing brand,” stating that the name change “re-emphasizes our core mission, our racing heritage, and simplifies our branding back to our competitive roots.”[5]
Meaning and Symbolism
The Ford script used in the Ford Performance and Ford Racing logos has a documented origin. C. Harold Wills, a Ford engineer and a former letterpress printer, created the distinctive logo script with his typesetting kit in 1906.[6] Wills joined Ford Motor Company as its first chief designer in 1903 after working with Henry Ford since 1899.[7]
The 2025 Ford Racing rebrand was tied directly to Ford’s racing heritage. Ford chose the 125th anniversary of Henry Ford’s 1901 Sweepstakes race victory for the reorganization.[1] Will Ford noted that racing is “in our blood as a company” and that few automotive brands “owe their very existence to winning a race through technological innovation.”[5]
Typography and Design
The 2025 Ford Racing logo pairs Ford’s historic blue oval emblem with a modern “Racing” typeface in a matching shade.[8] The first images Ford released showed the Ford-branded Blue Oval logo positioned above a bold font that reads simply “Racing.”[9]
The 2023 FP mark, by contrast, was described as a “cleaner, simplified look” that embraced minimal design language.[10] Ford said the new identity would help position Ford Performance as a reference in style and sporting mindset, and that the logo was easier to integrate into various environments including car liveries, clothing, display elements, parts, accessories, and advertising.[11]
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