Ford GT40: The Car That Beat Ferrari
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Some cars win races. A select few change motorsport forever. The Ford GT40 did both, humiliating Ferrari on the grandest stage in endurance racing and doing it four years in a row. Built to answer a personal slight, it became one of the most celebrated machines in automotive history. Sixty years on, it remains utterly magnificent.
Origins and History
The GT40's story begins with a bruised ego. In 1963, Henry Ford II attempted to purchase Ferrari, only for Enzo Ferrari to walk away from the deal at the last minute. Ford's response was characteristically American: spend whatever it takes and beat Ferrari at Le Mans.
Ford partnered with British racing constructor Lola Cars, basing the new car on Eric Broadley's Lola Mk6. Development moved to Ford Advanced Vehicles in Slough, and the GT40 — named for its 40-inch roof height — made its racing debut in 1964. Early results were catastrophic. The cars retired repeatedly. But Ford kept throwing money and talent at the problem.
By 1966, with Carroll Shelby and Ken Miles leading the charge, everything clicked. Ford finished 1-2-3 at Le Mans that year, with the infamous photo finish that controversially handed the win to Bruce McLaren over Miles. They won again in 1967, 1968 and 1969. The mission was complete, and then some.
The Design
The GT40 is one of those cars that looks exactly as fast as it is. The bodywork sits impossibly low to the ground, all smooth curves and purposeful apertures, shaped entirely by function rather than fashion. Yet the result is stunning.
Those long rear haunches, the wide rear deck, the gaping air intakes behind the doors — every detail serves a purpose. The windscreen is raked at an almost horizontal angle, giving the car a predatory, crouching stance. In Gulf Oil's famous powder blue and orange livery, it is one of the most iconic images in all of motorsport.
Later road-going versions retained the same basic shape, with only modest changes for road legality. The proportions are so right that the car needed little modification to transition from track to road. That is the mark of genuinely great design.
Performance and Driving
The Mk I road car used a 4.7-litre Ford V8, producing around 306 bhp. That figure sounds modest by modern standards, but in a car weighing just over 1,000 kg, it delivered serious performance. The 0-60 time of around five seconds and a top speed nudging 165 mph were extraordinary for the mid-1960s.
The racing variants were an entirely different proposition. The Mk II used a 7.0-litre big-block V8 with over 485 bhp. The Mk IV, developed entirely in America, produced upwards of 500 bhp and was so fast at Le Mans that the organisers introduced chicanes to slow it down.
Inside, the GT40 is a tight, purposeful place. The driving position is supine, the roof just clearing your helmet. The gearbox is a Colotti or ZF unit depending on the variant, shifted via a short, mechanical throw. Everything communicates directly and honestly. This is a car that demands your full attention and rewards it completely.
Racing Pedigree
Four consecutive Le Mans victories between 1966 and 1969 is the headline achievement, but the GT40's racing record stretches far beyond those four Junes in northern France. The car raced successfully in the BOAC 500 at Brands Hatch, the Daytona 24 Hours and the Sebring 12 Hours, accumulating victories wherever it competed.
The 1968 and 1969 Le Mans wins deserve special mention. By that point, Ford had officially withdrawn factory support. Gulf Oil-backed privateers, running year-old Mk I cars, saw off the latest Ferrari and Porsche machinery on raw reliability and sheer driver talent. John Wyer's team had built something genuinely special.
The GT40 also inspired a generation of subsequent sports cars. Its mid-engined layout, then still unusual for a road car, proved definitively that the configuration worked at the highest level. Almost every serious sports car since owes it a debt.
Buying a Ford GT40 Today
Genuine GT40s are rare, valuable and fiercely contested at auction. Of the 107 original GT40s built, most are accounted for and well-documented. Expect to pay north of four million pounds for a genuine car, with Le Mans-raced examples commanding considerably more. A Mk I that competed at Le Mans sold for over twelve million dollars in recent years.
Provenance is everything. Documentation linking a car to its factory build record and racing history is essential. Many GT40s have complex histories spanning multiple owners, restorations and even bodyshell rebuilds, so a thorough historical review by a recognised expert is non-negotiable before purchase.
High-quality continuation cars from manufacturers such as Safir Engineering are a more accessible route. These cars were built using original tooling and components, and represent a genuine driving experience at a fraction of the cost of an original. Numerous kit car and replica builders also offer GT40-based projects, ranging in quality from excellent to questionable.
Shop Ford GT40 Art at KK Automotive Art
KK Automotive Art does not yet have a Ford GT40 design in our collection. We are working on bringing this iconic car to our range — watch this space! In the meantime, explore our classic car phone cases, classic car mugs and limited edition prints.
Explore more American classics in our classic cars blog.