Created because of the most infamous grudge in automotive history, The Ford GT 40 is a high-performance, endurance race car built by the Ford Motor Company to beat the old man Ferrari. The grudge started when Ford was in the process to buy the Italian manufacturer Ferrari and got denied at a very late stage due to a dispute over the ability to direct open-wheel racing.
This outraged Henry Ford II and he instructed the racing division of Ford to develop a car that can beat Ferrari in the most prestigious race of the time, Le Mans. The development of the GT40 Mk1 began in the early 1960s, and it was powered by a range of Ford V8 engines modified and tuned for racing.
Design and development of GT40
The design and development of the Ford GT40 was certainly a big challenge, they were trying to build a car in 10 months to beat Ferraris’s years of experience. A high-performance division was created with Roy Lunna, Carrol Shelby, and a few other Frod officials for the project. Their first challenge was to find engineers that were capable of performing this task. They chose Eric Broadly, whose Lola GT was an exceptional car at that time, and John Wyer, who won the Le Mans with Carrol Shelby for Aston Martin as a race manager.
When the remaining car reached Shelby’s garage, Ken Miles, a good friend and development driver for Shelby Motors began working on them. They started by resetting the original suspension setting which instantly improved the performance. Later the aerodynamics of the car was tested with the help of Ford Aeroneutronics and the old-fashioned way of yarn and tape. All the testing improved the GT40 over time and made it the legend, it is now.
Who was Ken Miles?
Kenneth Henry Jarvis Miles was a British sportscar driver and engineer, known for winning most of the prestigious races in the world. Born on 1 November 1918 in the city of Birmingham. He was a mechanical genius and left the school at age 15 to work as an apprentice at Wolseley Motors, which identified the engineer and sent him to the technical school to broaden his knowledge.
In 1963 he became the chief tester for Shelby America and came as one of the key members in the success of GT40. Later, he became the driver for the Fords GT40 MkII in 1965 and won 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring, and the following year he brought victory by winning the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans. However, due to a facade, he was positioned 2nd on the podium, although he crossed the line in first place.
Two months later, after winning the Le Mans he was testing the Ford J car which was supposed to be the successor of the GT40 for the next year. After the whole day of testing at Riverside International Raceway he was coming downhill at top speed when the car suddenly slipped and caught fire, causing the instant death of the legend. After that, he was also inducted into the Motorsport Hall of Fame America in 2001.
What were the performance and specifications like?
The GT40 was an endurance race car that was designed to perform at some of the most prestigious races in the world. It was a pinnacle of engineering and craftsmanship that led Ford from a boring car manufacturer to the podium of the Le Mans.
The specifications of the GT 40
|
Ford GT 40 |
Specs |
|---|---|
|
Price |
NA |
|
Powertrain |
4.9 liter, Naturally aspirated V8 |
|
Horsepower |
425 hp @ 6000 RPM |
|
Torque |
395 lb-ft @ 4750 RPM |
|
Transmission |
5- 4 speed manual transmission |
|
0-60 MPH |
4.7 seconds |
|
Top Speed |
210 mph |
Since the GT40 was an endurance car, it needed to provide sustained performance for long periods. This was a challenge as the engineers had very limited time and have to create something that was powerful but also sustain the performance of the vehicle for a longer duration.
How much does a Ford GT40 cost?
As Ford GT40 is a classic car, the exact quotation of the price is not available. The prices of such cars, depend on several factors such as economic changes, demands, supply, condition of the car, and its history can increase or lower the price of such vehicles. Some recent auctions made the prices of the car go upwards of $12 million. This is the price you have to pay if you want a piece of American motoring history.
How many Ford GT40s are left?
There were 5 prototypes of the GT40 created by the Ford performance team for the development of the vehicle, out of which only three survived the testing. One of them recently surfaced for sale, and two of them are parked inside the Shelby Heritage Center. As these vehicles are extremely rare, the price of these cars is astronomical, we are talking about 10’s of millions of dollars. So if your pockets are deep enough you can own the car that made history.
