Ford GT40 - 1966 Le Mans Winner

A new edition to our Ford GT40 Collection, we can reveal that we are developing a model of the #2 car that officially took the race at Le Mans in 1966 in the hands of Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon. Our first prototype is programmed for completion towards the middle of the year, with the first batches of limited edition models currently anticipated for Q3.

One of the most iconic racing cars of all time, the Ford GT40 was born out of motorsport’s most infamous grudge. After failing to secure possession of Enzo Ferrari’s much celebrated company, Henry Ford II returned to America empty-handed and declared his desire to crush Ferrari at Le Mans. The result was a car that was to defeat all before it.

Produced for five years between 1964-69, the development of the GT40 was particularly improvised at the beginning. Despite their tremendous wealth and production capability, Ford as an organisation had precious little racing expertise. Ford negotiated a deal with UK-based Lola Cars owner and chief designer Eric Broadley and dispatched British engineer Roy Lunn back to the UK to take a key role in the project, the latter having already developed a preliminary design. Overseen by American designer Harley Copp, the team of Broadley, Lunn and ex-Aston Martin team boss John Wyer began working on the new car at the Lola Factory in Bromley. At the end of 1963, the team moved to Slough, at the newly established Ford Advanced Vehicles HQ, under the direction of Wyer. Bruce McLaren, of McLaren Automotive, was hired to evaluate a prototype in August 1963 and then work progressed swiftly, though it was barely finished in time for its unveiling. The first GT40, the GT/101 (the “GT40” moniker came later and was taken from the car’s height: it stood at 40 inches tall at the top of the windscreen), was revealed in England on 1 April 1964 and soon after exhibited in New York. The purchase price of the completed car for competition use was £5,200 (over £100k in modern terms).

Early issues with the car were apparent as the Ford Motor Company team tried to accomplish in 10 months what Ferrari had perfected over decades. Le Mans testing a few weeks later revealed severe instability issues at high speed; the GT40 could do 200mph (321km/h) but wanted to get airborne above 170mph (273km/h). With McLaren’s input, a spoiler was added and other modifications made. The car was now ready for competition. However, the first outings at the Nürburgring, Le Mans and Reims, amongst others, were disastrous, the cars rarely reaching the chequered flag. All three cars at Le Mans had retired by the twelve-hour mark. In response, Ford leadership moved the programme back to the US and handed operational control to legendary American ex-racer Carroll Shelby. Shelby and Ken Miles, Shelby’s developmental driver, worked on the design, Miles discovering that the initial design settings had been lost and, when he reset the suspension to the original settings, performance increased substantially. Aerodynamics testing soon revealed that the airflow was worse than had been imagined. Shelby’s American engineer Phil Remington rearranged ducting to change airflow, gaining the engine another 79 horsepower, whilst materials were swapped out for lighter alternatives: fiberglass replaced aluminium and steel, and wider magnesium wheels replaced the wire spoke version, amongst other modifications. Suddenly the GT40 began to not only look like a racing car, but to perform like one. The first race of 1965 saw Ford take victory and third position at Daytona, with a Ford-powered Shelby Cobra in second. A second position at Sebring boded well, but Le Mans testing a month later was dominated by Ferrari as the Ford team scrambled to make modifications to the cars, experimenting with different engines and gearboxes. Back in the US, Lunn and his team had a new version of the GT40 ready for testing, eventually labelled the MK II, with a 7-litre 427 cubic inch engine taken from the Ford Galaxie and a Kar Kraft-built four-speed gearbox. Further modifications were made, until eventually Ken Miles hit 210mph on the straight away. Two of the Mk IIs were sent to Le Mans to bolster the team’s efforts and, when the 427 set a lap record almost five seconds quicker than the Ferraris in practice, Ford paired up Miles and McLaren for the assault on Circuit de la Sarthe. The race, however, was an unmitigated disaster, with all six GT40 entries retiring after just seven hours. Blame was attributed to untested engines and conflicting priorities, with more attention given to the engines destined for the Indianapolis 500, but optimism remained for the next season’s attempt. Having seen the potential of the GT40 programme, Ford established a Le Mans committee for 1966 and, after a corporate restructure including the inclusion of its NASCAR racing team Holmon & Moody, a simplified internal bureaucracy would no longer hinder the programme. With time and resources now fully available, the team was unleashed.

1966 marked the beginning of the GT40 legend. Daytona was now a 24-hour race and, whilst Ferrari did not enter any of their factory cars, Ken Miles and Lloyd Ruby led home a 1-2-3-5 victory for the American giants on their home turf. This was quickly followed by another victory 1-2-3 at Sebring, as the single Ferrari prototype entry retired after an accident. However, it was the Le Mans crown that the Americans coveted. Ford assembled an army for the race that year: eight cars, over 100 personnel with 21 tonnes of spare parts across three privateer teams, up against 11 Ferraris, including 330P3 and 385P2s. In a race of attrition, Ford defeated Ferrari in style, dominating the podium with the top three finishers and becoming the first American manufacturer to emerge victorious at Le Mans. Three years after being rejected by Ferrari, Ford had developed one of the best endurance cars in the world and won on the field of contest. With the Le Mans victory, Ford also claimed the International Manufacturer Championship.

In the meantime, Ford had already started development for an all-new replacement for 1967, initially dubbed the J-car and later the Mk IV. With a much lighter aluminium honeycomb chassis and a new body that best combined low drag with high-speed stability, the Mk IV immediately won at Sebring on its competitive debut in the hands of Bruce McLaren and Mario Andretti, a victory even more striking after Ferrari had dominated at Daytona just a month beforehand. At Le Mans, Dan Gurney and A. J. Foyt claimed a four-lap victory over Ferrari, in a highly competitive race that saw only 15 classified finishers, to become the first and only all-American entry (American chassis, engine, tyres, team and drivers) to ever win at Le Mans. A day later, new regulations announced for 1968 rendered the Mk IV obsolete, limiting engine sizes to three litres for the prototype category. However, this was not yet the end for the GT40.

To attract more entrants that could compete for overall wins, existing sportscars like the GT40 were allowed, with a maximum of a five-litre engine if at least 50 cars had been built. John Wyer’s team took some Mk Is, increasing the 4.7 litre to a 4.9 litre and taking steps to prevent head gasket failure by installing O-rings between the block and head, a common problem found with the 4.7 engine. Chassis #1075, dressed in the iconic blue and orange livery of Gulf Oil International, emerged victorious at Le Mans in the hands of Pedro Rodriguez and Lucien Bianchi, defeating the fragile smaller three litre prototypes from Porsche, Alfa and others. The result, the last of the season after the race had been moved to September due to unrest in France earlier in the year, saw Ford steal an unexpected 1968 International Championship for Makes title from right under Porsche’s nose. #1075 returned for the 1969 edition of Le Mans, facing more experienced prototypes and the new yet still unreliable 4.5 litre flat-12-powered Porsche 917s, A phenomenal effort by Jacky Ickx and Jackie Oliver saw them pip the Porsche 908 of Hans Hermann and Gérard Larrousse for victory by just 120 metres (390 feet) after 372 laps, recording the closest-run competitive finish in the history of the Le Mans 24 Hours, and one of the greatest in all of the history of motor racing. The GT40 may have now been obsolete, but its domination at Le Mans for the past four years had very much sealed its place as one of the most successful racing machines in the annals of motorsport.

This perfect 1:8 scale model of the Ford GT40 is based on the chassis #1046, which was raced to victory by Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon in the 24 Hours of Le Mans at Circuit de la Sarthe on the 18th and 19th June 1966. One of eight Ford GT40 Mark II entries, #1046 qualified fourth, behind the other Mark IIs of Dan Gurney and Jerry Grant, Ken Miles and Denny Hulme, and John Whitmore and Frank Gardner and ahead of the fastest Ferrari, a 330 P3 Spyder driven by Pedro Rodriguez and Richie Ginther.

Henry Ford II was the honorary starter, waving the flag to begin the race. Miles had to pit for repairs after closing the door onto his helmet at the beginning of the race, whilst McLaren had to pull in for new tyres after just three laps. The rest of the cars roared on with the Fords and Ferraris trading the lead through much of the early race. By 8pm, only three cars were on the lead lap, Miles leading Ford’s Gurney and Ferrari’s Rodriguez, with the McLaren/Amon a lap down. At dusk, light rain dampened the track, reducing the power advantage of the big GT40s, whilst several of the Fords had chosen to change brake pads early, allowing Ferrari to keep in touch. After midnight, the tables began to turn: the Ferraris began to drop out with mechanical difficulties and, while Ford had some withdrawals, the bulk of the American team raced on, at one point holding seven of the top eight spots with Mk II and Mk I GT40s. By 4am, the last of the Ferraris was out of the race and the order went out for the teams to slow, from an early pace of 3:30 per lap to a more strategic 3:50 per lap, to ensure that most cars could complete the race.

Gurney was in the lead most of the evening, with Miles and McLaren trading 2nd and 3rd place depending upon their pit stop order, until mid-morning when the #3 Ford blew a head gasket, forcing its retirement. Despite this setback, Ford still had the first three places between the Shelby American entries Miles/Hulme and McLaren/Amon and the Holman & Moody entrant of Bucknum and Hutcherson. With two hours to go, Ford racing director Leo Beebe met with Carroll Shelby met to discuss how the team should approach the end of the race. The leaders contrived to create a stalemate between Miles and McLaren, telling both drivers to ease off, particularly Miles who was currently in the lead, to allow Hutcherson to catch them and ensure a full Ford podium at the chequered flag. During the final lap, the three Ford cars rode in tandem with Miles and McLaren crossing the finish line in a dead heat, with Hutcherson close behind. The photo finish was intact. However, ACO rules dictated, controversially, that McLaren and Amon had covered more distance during the race due to their starting positions further back, and thus the #2 would be declared the winner. With that, Ford became the first American manufacturer to win at Le Mans, and Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon become the maiden New Zealanders to achieve the feat. The victory at Le Mans also sealed Ford a narrow victory over Ferrari in the International Manufacturer Championship.

The Ford GT40 1966 Le Mans Winner is limited to just 199 pieces.