The Ford GT40 is a high-performance mid-engined racing car originally designed and built for and by the Ford Motor Company to compete in 1960s European endurance racing and the World Sportscar Championship. Its specific impetus was to beat Scuderia Ferrari, which had won the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans race for six years running from 1960 to 1965. As rules of the time required that GT cars were built in dozens and sold, around 100 cars in total have been made, mostly as V8-powered Mk Is, of which at least 50 were made in 1965, which allowed FIA-homologation as Group-4-Sportscar for 1966 until 1971. This gave the old MK.I car of Gulf-Wyer the chance to enter and win Le Mans in 1968 and 1969 after prototypes had been limited to 3 litre, with the performance of the Ford 7-litre-V8 in the factory 1966 Mk.II and 1967 Mk.IV prototypes causing this rule change, which also banned the 4-litre V12 Ferrari 330P4 and others after 1967. The Mk.III designation was used for some road-legal cars.
The Ford GT40 debuted in 1964, and improvements in 1965 led to Ford winning World Championships categories from 1966 to 1968. The first Le Mans win came in 1966 with three powered Mk.II prototypes crossing the finish line together, the second in 1967 with the same engine now in quite different US-built Mk.IV prototype chassis similar to the "J-car" mule. In order to lower ever-higher race top speeds, a rule change from 1968 onwards limited prototypes to 3.0 litre Formula 1 engines; the sportscar "loophole", however, allowed the private JW "Gulf Oil" team to win at Le Mans in 1968 and 1969 running a Mk.I with a 5.0 litre engine.
The GT40 effort began in Britain in the early 1960s when Ford Advanced Vehicles began to build the Mk I, based upon the British Lola Mk6, in Slough, UK. After disappointing race results, the engineering team was moved in 1964 to Dearborn, Michigan, US, to design and build cars by its advanced developer, Kar Kraft. All chassis versions were powered by a series of American-built Ford V8 OHV engines modified for racing.
In the 1966 Le Mans, the GT40 Mk II car broke Ferrari's winning streak, making Ford the first American manufacturer to win a major European race since Jimmy Murphy's Duesenberg in the 1921 French Grand Prix. In the 1967 Le Mans, the GT40 Mk IV car became the only car developed and assembled entirely (both chassis and engine) in the United States to achieve the overall win at Le Mans.
Name
The "GT" in the car's name stands for grand touring, and the "40" its height in inches (1.02 m) measured at the top of the windscreen, the minimum allowed. The first 12 "prototype" vehicles carried serial numbers GT-101 to GT-112. Production GT40s (Mk I, Mk II, Mk III, and Mk IV) began with GT40P/1000.
History
Henry Ford II had wanted a Ford at Le Mans since the early 1960s. In early 1963, Ford reportedly received word through a European intermediary that Enzo Ferrari was interested in selling to Ford Motor Company. Ford reportedly spent several million dollars in an audit of Ferrari factory assets and in legal negotiations, only to have Ferrari unilaterally cut off talks at a late stage due to disputes about the ability to direct open-wheel racing. Ferrari, who wanted to remain the sole operator of his company's motorsports division, was angered when he was told that he would not be allowed to race at the Indianapolis 500 again (Ferrari had raced at the '52 Indy) if the deal went through, since Ford fielded Lotus 29 cars with the new Ford Indy V8 engine and didn't want competition from Ferrari. Enzo cut the deal off out of spite and Henry Ford II, enraged, directed his racing division to find a company that could build a Ferrari-beater on the world endurance-racing Gran Turismo circuit.
To this end, Ford began negotiation with Lotus, Lola, and Cooper. Cooper had no experience in GT or prototype and its performances in Formula One were declining as others also used the rear-mid engine layout.
thumb|left|The [[Lola Mk6 that the GT40 was developed from]]
The Lola proposal was chosen since Lola had used a Ford V8 engine in its mid-engined Lola Mk6 (also known as Lola GT). It was one of the most advanced racing cars of the time and made a noted performance in Le Mans 1963, even though the car did not finish, due to low gearing and slow revving out on the Mulsanne Straight. However, Eric Broadley, Lola Cars' owner and chief designer, agreed on a short-term personal contribution to the project without involving Lola Cars.
The agreement with Broadley included a one-year collaboration between Ford and Broadley, and the sale of the two Lola Mk 6 chassis builds to Ford. To form the development team, Ford also hired the ex-Aston Martin team manager John Wyer. Ford Motor Co. engineer Roy Lunn was sent to England; he had designed the mid-engined Mustang I concept car , making him the only Dearborn engineer to have some experience with that configuration.
Overseen by Harley Copp, the team of Broadley, Lunn, and Wyer began working on the new car at the Lola Factory in Bromley. At the end of 1963, the team moved to Slough, near Heathrow Airport. Ford then established Ford Advanced Vehicles (FAV) Ltd, a new subsidiary under the direction of Wyer, to manage the project.
It was powered by the 4.7 L HiPo (K-code) 289 cu in Fairlane engine with a Colotti transaxle. An aluminium block DOHC version, known as the Ford Indy V8 engine, won the 1965 Indianapolis 500 and in later years.
Racing history '64-'65
thumb|left|Prototype chassis GT 104, which finished third at the Daytona 2000 in 1965
The Ford GT40 was first raced in May 1964 at the Nürburgring 1000 km where it retired with suspension failure after holding second place early in the event. Three weeks later at the 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans, all three entries retired, although the Ginther/Gregory car led the field from the second lap until its first pitstop. After a season-long series of dismal results under John Wyer in 1964, the program was handed over to Carroll Shelby after the 1964 Nassau race. The cars were sent directly to Shelby, still bearing the dirt and damage from the Nassau race. Carroll Shelby was noted for complaining that the cars were poorly maintained when he received them, but later information revealed the cars were packed up as soon as the race was over, and FAV never had a chance to clean and organize the cars to be transported to Shelby.
Shelby's first victory came on their maiden race with the Ford program, with Ken Miles and Lloyd Ruby taking a Shelby American-entered Ford GT40 to victory in the Daytona 2000km in February 1965. One month later, Ken Miles and Bruce McLaren came in second overall (to the winning Chaparral in the sports class) and first in prototype class at the Sebring 12-hour race. The rest of the season, however, was a disappointment.
thumb|GT40 Mk I (chassis P/1030), later modified by Ford Advanced Vehicles in August 1967 to be street legal
Racing history '66-'67
The experience gained in 1964 and 1965 allowed the 7-liter Mk II prototypes to dominate the following years. In addition, as more than 50 had been built, the 4.7 litre Mk.I was homologated
This meant that in the final few hours, the Ford GT40 of New Zealanders Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon closely trailed the leading Ford GT40 driven by Englishman Ken Miles and New Zealander Denny Hulme. With a multimillion-dollar program finally on the very brink of success, Ford team officials faced a difficult choice. They could allow the drivers to settle the outcome by racing each other—and risk one or both cars breaking down or crashing; they could dictate a finishing order to the drivers—guaranteeing that one set of drivers would be extremely unhappy; or they could arrange a tie, with the McLaren/Amon and Miles/Hulme cars crossing the line side by side.
The team chose the latter and informed Shelby. He told McLaren and Miles of the decision just before the two got into their cars for the final stint. Then, not long before the finish, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), organizers of the Le Mans event, informed Ford that the geographical difference in starting positions would be taken into account at a close finish. This meant that the McLaren/Amon vehicle, which had started perhaps behind the Hulme-Miles car, would have covered slightly more ground over the 24 hours and would, in the event of a tie for first place, be the winner. Secondly, Ford officials admitted later, the company's contentious relationship with Miles, its top contract driver, placed executives in a difficult position. They could reward an outstanding driver who had been at times extremely difficult to work with, or they could decide in favor of drivers (McLaren/Amon) who had committed less to the Ford program but who had been easier to deal with. Ford stuck with the orchestrated photo finish. What happened on the last lap remains the subject of speculation. Either Miles, deeply bitter over this decision after his dedication to the program, issued his own protest by suddenly slowing just yards from the finish and letting McLaren across the line first, or Bruce McLaren accelerated just before the finish line robbing Miles of his victory. Either way, McLaren's car was declared the victor.
Neither driver had many opportunities to elaborate on the event, as both died testing new race cars, McLaren in 1970. Already two months later in 1966 Ken Miles died at the wheel of the Ford "J-car" at Riverside Raceway. The J-car was a GT40 prototype that included several unique features, most notably an aluminium-honeycomb chassis construction and a "bread-van" body-design that experimented with "Kammback" aerodynamic theories. Miles' fatal accident was attributed at least partly to the unproven aerodynamics of the J-car design, and to the experimental chassis' strength that had no roll cage yet.
The team embarked on a complete redesign of the car, which became known as the Mk IV. The Mk IV newer design, with a Mk II engine but a different chassis and a different body, won the 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans (when four Mark IVs, three Mark IIs, and three Mark Is raced), but only two of them finished, 1st and 4th. The high speeds achieved in that race caused a rule change, which already came into effect in 1968: the prototypes were limited to the capacity of 3.0 litres, the same as in Formula One since 1966. This took out not only the Ford Mk II and Mk IV, but also the Chaparral V8 Chevy, and the V12-powered Ferrari 330P and Jaguar XJ13 (in development).
Racing history '68-'69
The rule change of late 1967 meant that there would be few 3-litre prototype entries in early 1968, most of them of (too) small capacity, like 2.0 litre Alfa Romeo Tipo 33/2 and 2.2 litre Porsche 907, later 3.0 litre Porsche 908. Ferrari remained absent in protest, but Matra and others entered. Most of the few F1 engines were too unreliable for endurance, let alone 24 hours. Ford's own Cosworth V8 had been introduced to F1 in 1967, where it was a success into the early 1980s, but vibrations prevented it from succeeding in endurance racing (Ford P68 and others), even though the 1975 and 1980s Le Mans races were won with later Ford Cosworth engine versions, after Matra had won 1972 to 1974 with their V12.
To attract more entrants, who also could compete for overall wins and points towards the 1968 World Sportscar Championship simplified International Championship for Makes, existing sportscars like the GT40 and the Lola T70 were allowed, with a maximum of 5.0 l if at least 50 cars had been built. For the many GT40 Mk.Is which had been built mainly in 1965, were homologated in February 1966, and won the Sportcars championship in 1966 and 1967, some modifications were allowed in early 1968, regarding the Cylinder head, an Engine with 4942cc, and Gearbox with Limited slip differential. || GT40P/1046 (Mk II) || Shelby-American Inc. || Bruce McLaren<br /> Chris Amon || Ford 7.0L V8 || || 4843.09 ||125.39
| 201.80
|-
| 1967 || J5 (Mk IV) || Shelby-American Inc. || Dan Gurney<br /> A. J. Foyt || Ford 7.0L V8 || || 5232.9 || 135.48 || 218.03
|-
| 1968 || GT40P/1075 (Mk I) || John Wyer Automotive Engineering Ltd. || Pedro Rodriguez<br /> Lucien Bianchi || Ford 4.9 L V8 || || 4452.88 || 115.29 || 185.54
|-
| 1969 || GT40P/1075 (Mk I) || John Wyer Automotive Engineering Ltd. || Jacky Ickx<br /> Jackie Oliver || Ford 4.9 L V8 || || 4997.88 || 129.40 || 208.25
|}
International titles
In addition to four consecutive overall Le Mans victories, Ford also won the following four FIA international titles (at what was then unofficially known as the World Sportscar Championship) with the GT40 car:
- 1966 International Manufacturers Championship – Sports prototype category (over 2000cc)
- 1966 International Championship for Sports Cars – Grand Touring (GT) category (division III - over 2000cc)
- 1967 International Championship for Sports Cars – Grand Touring (GT) category (division III - over 2000cc)
- 1968 International Championship for Makes – Sports prototype category
Original versions
Mk I
thumb|A GT40 Mk I competing in the 1969 [[Nurburgring 1000 km race]]
thumb|Mk I in [[Gulf Oil colors]]
thumb|1968 GT40 Mk I
The Mk I was both the first and the last type of Ford GT40 to be raced, from 1964 to 1969. Early prototypes were powered by 255 cu in (4.2 L) alloy V8 engines and production models were powered by engines as used in the Ford Mustang. Five prototype models were built with roadster bodywork, including the Ford X-1. Only 5 results would count, and both Porsche and Ford had 4 wins each before the main event that was postponed due to political unrest from June to September: the 1968 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Even with additional time, the Porsche 908 as the first prototype built for the new 3-liter Group 6 rules, had teething problems. With Porsche still connected with Volkswagen and using an aircooled two-valve engine, the design had only 350 hp but low weight and low drag. The new Porsche team managers did not read the French rules properly, and attempted to replace failing generators instead of repairing them. Alfa Romeo, Matra and Alpine has works entries with small or unproven engines. The five GT40s were anything but bullet proof, with four DNFs, but the lone surviving Mk I won the 1968 24 Hours of Le Mans and the World Championship of Makes, as Pedro Rodríguez and Lucien Bianchi had a clear lead over the best 2.2 litre 270 hp Porsche 907, driving the 'almighty' #9 car with the 'Gulf Oil' colors. The engine installed on this car was a naturally aspirated Windsor V8 with a compression ratio of 10.6:1; fuel fed by four 2-barrel 48 IDA Weber carburettors, rated at at 6,000 rpm and a maximum torque of at 4,750 rpm. The same chassis would win again in 1969 in a close finish over a Porsche 908.
A total of 31 Mk I cars were built at the Slough factory in "road" trim, which differed little from the race versions. Wire wheels, carpet, ruched fabric map pockets in the doors and a cigarette lighter made up most of the changes. Some cars deleted the ventilated seats, and at least one (chassis 1049) was built with the opening metal-framed windows from the Mk III.
; X-1 Roadster
thumb|left|1965 Ford GT40 Roadster prototype (GT/111) at Goodwood FOS in 2019
The X-1 was a roadster built to contest the Fall 1965 North American Pro Series, a forerunner of Can-Am, entered by the Bruce McLaren racing team and driven by Chris Amon. The car had an aluminium chassis built at Abbey Panels and was originally powered by a 289 cu in (4.7L) engine. The real purpose of this car was to test several improvements originating from Kar Kraft, Shelby, and McLaren. Several gearboxes were used: a Hewland LG500 and at least one automatic gearbox. It was later upgraded to Mk II specifications with a 427 cu in (7 L) engine and a standard four ratio Kar Kraft (subsidiary of Ford) gearbox, however, the car kept specific features such as its open roof and lightweight aluminium chassis. The car went on to win the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1966. The X-1 was a one-off and, having been built in the United Kingdom and being liable for United States tariffs, was later ordered to be destroyed by United States customs officials.
Mk II
thumb|left|GT40 Mk II rear
The Mk I design was altered separately by both Holman Moody and Shelby American to handle the much larger highly modified "big block" Ford FE engine side oiler from the Ford's large family car called Ford Galaxie, used in NASCAR at the time and modified for road course use. Referred to retroactively as the Ford Mk II, the car had a new Kar Kraft-built four-speed gearbox (KKL-108 also called a Ford box) in place of the overpowered ZF five-speed (which had already belatedly replaced the over-stressed Colleti in the Mk I) used in the Mk I.
In 1966, the three teams racing the Mk II (Chris Amon and Bruce McLaren, Denny Hulme and Ken Miles, and Dick Hutcherson and Ronnie Bucknum) dominated Le Mans, taking European audiences by surprise and beating Ferrari to finish 1-2-3 in the standings. Ford GT40 went on to win the Le Mans race for the next three years, but in very different form, as Mk.IV in 1967, and then twice an old Mk.I.
For the 1967 Daytona 24 Hours, two Mk II models (chassis 1016 and 1047) had their bodies and engines re-badged as Mercury vehicles and engines to promote that division of the Ford Motor Company.
In 2018, a Mk II that was 3rd overall at the 1966 Le Mans 24 Hours was sold by RM Sotheby's for $9,795,000 (£7,624,344) - the highest price paid at that time for a GT40 at auction.
Mk II B
For 1967, the Mk IIs were upgraded to "B" spec, with re-designed bodywork and twin Holley carburettors (giving an additional ). The new bodywork removed two top vents, which were for cooling rear brakes and added a spare wheel at the rear end. A batch of improperly heat-treated input shafts in the transaxles side-lined virtually every Ford in the race at the 24 Hours of Daytona, however, and Ferrari won 1–2–3. The Mk IIBs were also used for Sebring and Le Mans that year and won the Reims 12 Hours in France.
Mk III
thumb|Ford GT40 Mk III
The Mk III was a street-legal version of the GT40 Mk I, with its engine detuned to . A total of seven were built,
To bring the GT40 project into alignment with Ford's "in house" production ideology, more restrictive partnerships were implemented with the English suppliers and engineering firms. This resulted in the sale of Ford Advanced Vehicles to John Wyer, ultimately leading to a new vehicle which would be slated for design by Ford's studios and produced by Ford's subsidiary Kar-Kraft under Ed Hull. Furthermore, there was also a partnership with the Brunswick Aircraft Corporation for expertise on the novel use of aluminium honeycomb panels bonded together to form a lightweight, rigid "tub".
The nickname "J-car" came from its construction to meet the new Appendix J regulations introduced by the FIA in 1966; the redesign resulted in the abandonment of the original Mk I/Mk II chassis.
The first J-car was completed in March 1966 and set the fastest time at the Le Mans trials that year. The tub weighed only , and the entire car weighed only , less than the Mk II. In spite of this, it was decided to run the Mk IIs due to their proven reliability, and little or no development was done on the J-car for the rest of the season. Following Le Mans, the development program for the J-car was resumed, and a second car was built. During a test session at Riverside International Raceway in August 1966 with Ken Miles driving, the car suddenly went out of control at the end of its high-speed, back straight. The honeycomb chassis shattered upon impact, and the car burst into flames, killing Miles. It was determined that the unique, flat-topped "bread van" aerodynamics of the car, lacking any sort of spoiler, led to excess lift. Therefore, a conventional but significantly more aerodynamic body was designed.
Thanks to its streamlined aerodynamics, the car proved to be fastest in the field at Le Mans in 1967, achieving 213 mph on the 3.6-mile Mulsanne Straight.
Dan Gurney, who was 6 feet 4 inches tall, requested a bubble-shaped bodywork extension over the driver's seat to accommodate him. Gurney also complained about the weight of the Mk IV, which was more than the Ferrari 330 P4, and, combined with its higher speed, put more stress on its brakes. During practice at Le Mans in 1967, in an effort to preserve the brakes, Gurney developed a strategy (also adopted by co-driver A.J. Foyt who had just won the 1967 Indianapolis 500) of backing completely off the throttle several hundred yards before the approach to the Mulsanne hairpin and virtually coasting into the braking area. This technique saved the brakes, but the resulting increase in the car's recorded lap times during practice led to mistaken speculation within the Ford team that Gurney and Foyt, in an effort to compromise on chassis settings, had hopelessly "dialed out" their car - despite Gurney having been the fastest GT40 pilot in the 1966 practice and race. Also, Gurney was developing his own Eagle V12 F1 car with which he would win the 1967 Belgian Grand Prix the very next weekend.
The Mk IV ran in only two races, the April 1967 12 Hours of Sebring and the June 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans, and won both events. Only one Mk IV was completed for Sebring; the pressure from Ford had been increased considerably after Ford's humiliation at the 1967 Daytona 24h in early February, when Ferrari staged a 1-2-3 finish, honored later by naming a road car the Ferrari Daytona. Mario Andretti and Bruce McLaren won Sebring, Dan Gurney and A. J. Foyt won Le Mans (their car was the Mk IV that was apparently least likely to win), where the Ford-representing Shelby-American and Holman & Moody teams showed up to Le Mans with 2 Mk IVs each.
Unlike the earlier Mk I - III cars, the chassis of which were built in Britain, the Mk IV car was built entirely in the United States by Kar Kraft, Ford's performance division in Detroit. Thus, Le Mans 1967 still remains both the only all-American victory in Le Mans history — American drivers (Dan Gurney and A. J. Foyt), team (Shelby-American Inc.), chassis constructor (Ford), engine manufacturer (Ford), and tires (Goodyear) — as well as the only victory of a car designed and built entirely (both chassis and engine) in the United States. A total of six Mk IVs were constructed.
- Southern GT: Built-in Swanmore, Southampton, UK. Specializing in GT40 Mk1 and Mk2, as well as Lola T70. Kit form or fully built to your specifications.
- CAV GT: Originally designed for customers to build as a kit, the CAV GT has evolved into a modernized replica that is now factory-built in Cape Town, South Africa.
- Holman Moody: GT40 Mark II won third at Le Mans in 1966, and can still manufacture a Holman GT from 1966 blueprints.
- GT40 Spyder, United States: Built by E.R.A. Replica Automobiles in New Britain, CT, the Spyder is a MK2 Canadian American (CAN-AM) racing replica. The ERA GT is "No Longer Available" according to their website (3 October 2021).
- Ford GT40 By Everrati: Everatti's GT40 replica uses a Superformance body and is powered by a 700-volt electric architecture, allowing for fast charging. Everrati estimates it delivers and of torque, making it almost twice as powerful as the most powerful version of the original GT40.
Ford GT
left|thumb|2005 [[Ford GT]]
The Ford GT is a modern reinterpretation of the GT40 manufactured by Ford Motor Company.
At the 1995 North American International Auto Show, the Ford GT90 concept was shown and at the 2002 show, a new GT40 Concept was unveiled by Ford. While similar in appearance to the original cars, it was bigger, wider, and 3 inches (76 mm) taller than the original 40 inches (1020 mm). Three production prototype cars were shown in 2003 as part of Ford's centenary, and delivery of the production Ford GT began in the fall of 2004. The Ford GT was assembled in the Ford Wixom, Michigan plant and painted by Saleen, Incorporated at their Saleen Special Vehicles plant in Troy, Michigan.
A British company, Safir Engineering, which continued to produce a limited number of GT40s (the Mk V) in the 1980s under an agreement with Walter Hayes of Ford and John Wilmont of J.W. Automotive Engineering, owned the GT40 trademark at that time, and when they completed production, they sold the excess parts, tooling, design, and trademark to a small American company called Safir GT40 Spares, Limited based in Ohio. Safir GT40 Spares licensed the use of the GT40 trademark to Ford for the initial 2002 show car, but when Ford decided to make the production vehicle, negotiations between the two failed, and as a result, the new Ford GT lost the "40" of GT40. Bob Wood, one of three partners who own Safir GT40 Spares, said: "When we talked with Ford, they asked what we wanted. We said that Ford owns Beanstalk in New York, the company that licenses the Blue Oval for Ford on such things as T-shirts. Since Beanstalk gets 7.5 percent of the retail cost of the item for licensing the name, we suggested 7.5 percent on each GT40 sold."
Ford, however, wished to purchase rather than license the GT40 trademark. At the then-estimated $125,000 per copy, 7.5% of 4,500 vehicles would have totalled approximately $42,187,500.