Last year, actor and professional wrestler John Cena made Ford furious when he sold his Ford GT just weeks after he bought it. This was in breach of a contract he signed that prevented him from selling it within the first two years of ownership to retain the car's exclusivity, so Ford sued him. Eventually, a settlement was reached between the two parties. This wasn't the only Ford GT sale that caused controversy, however.

Last May, a 2017 Ford GT, number 48 of the production run, went under the hammer at Mecums' Indianapolis auction with just seven miles on the odometer. Ford tried to stop the sale but was unsuccessful, as the local court ruled in favor of Mecum. The supercar sold for $1.8 million, and Ford sued. The same car went up for auction again at Mecum's Monterey auction the same year but didn't sell, despite a high bid of $1.6 million. Now, the lawsuit between the two companies has been settled out of court.

In an announcement, Ford confirmed it has received a settlement of an undisclosed amount of money from Mecum Auctions, which "clears up any lingering confusion that surrounds the Ford GT ownership agreement."That money will be donated to the Ford Motor Company Fund, which provides money to community organizations with a focus on education, safety and community services. As part of the settlement, Mecum Auctions has agreed not to resell any Ford GTs from original owners still in two-year agreement period.

In the future, the auction company will also need to contact Ford for permission to sell Ford GTs from non-original owners that have cars still within the two-year restriction. Ford has also made it explicitly clear that the two-year sale restriction still stands and GT owners shouldn't breach it, or else: "Ford and Mecum jointly urge that all original purchasers of Ford GTs abide by the terms of their agreements in order to avoid controversy," Ford said.