Ford v Ferrari first look: Christian Bale and Matt Damon take the wheel of classic cars in this James Mangold directorial

Christian Bale and Matt Damon are strapping on the seat belts for an electrifying experience in Ford v Ferrari. Entertainment Weekly released the first look images of the Fox biographical drama on Friday and we can already hear the Oscar chime closing in. The images by EW show Oscar winner Damon and Bale behind the wheel of classic Ford cars as they attempt to build a machine that can overrun the dominant Ferrari at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans race in France.

For the James Mangold directorial, we will be seeing Bale and Damon as car aficionado’s British racer Ken Miles and Matt Damon as Carroll Shelby, the prominent American car designer who were at the whirlpool of the famous Ford v Ferrari clatter in 1966.  “This is David vs. Goliath vs. Goliath,” says Bale. “You’ve got the industrial Goliath with Ford and the charismatic Goliath of reputation with Ferrari, and then this true story of the triumph of the misfits.”

Check out the first look here:

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Christian Bale and Matt Damon are racing toward awards season in our exclusive first look at their highly-anticipated new film, #FORDvFERRARI. 🏎 You’d think the two Oscar-winners would be playing the titular automobile legends in the true story of the battle for racing supremacy. But instead, Bale and Damon are down in the pit as the part of the crew of car aficionados who were at the heart of the battle between the companies. Link in bio for more details. 📷: Merrick Morton/Fox

A post shared by Entertainment Weekly (@entertainmentweekly) on May 24, 2019 at 6:36am PDT

Mangold speaking with EW as part of the first image reveal said he wanted to make the biopic less of a racing movie and more a “Butch and Sundance in the world of racing,” polishing more on the relationship between Bale and Damon. Mangold, who had earlier also directed Logan expressed his awareness of how risky it is to make a film like FORD V. FERRARI in a world of superheroes calling his upcoming biographical drama "an endangered species."

“As we were making it, we joked that it was the last movie ever. Luckily, we had this great character drama that was inside this other story.” But the old-school approach was crucial in preserving the heart of the film. “These are real people with love and loss and fears that aren’t handled in three mini-moments between the next 100-decibel, 12-minute action sequence,” says Mangold. “And it’s an acting tour de force — Matt and Christian have never been better.”

 Ford vs. Ferrari opens in theaters on November 15th.