GT40 History
Henry Ford II had wanted a Ford at Le Mans since the early 1960s.
Initially, Ford attempted to buy Ferrari. Much to the surprise of Ford who expected long negotiations, the proposal was welcomed by Enzo Ferrari. A deal had been all but agreed on when Ferrari called the merger off in 1963, after an agreement with Fiat that gave some financial backing to Ferrari, while preserving Ferrari's independence.
A frustrated Henry Ford II decided to produce his own car instead. 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.
Lotus was already a Ford partner for their Indy 500 project. Ford executives already doubted the ability of Lotus to handle this new project. Colin Chapman probably had similar views as he asked a high price for his contribution and insisted that the car should be named Lotus and not Ford, an attitude that can be viewed as polite refusal.
The Lola proposal was chosen, since Lola had used a Ford V8 engine in their mid-engined Lola Mk 6 (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 1962, even though the car didn't finish. However, Broadley agreed on a short-term personal contribution to the project without involving Lola cars.
The agreement with Lola Cars' owner and chief designer Eric Broadley included a one year collaboration between Ford and Broadley and the sale of the two Lola Mk 6 chassis built to Ford. To form the development team, Ford also hired the already ex-Aston Martin team manager John Wyer. Ford Motor Co. engineer Roy Lunn was sent to England. Lunn had designed the mid-engined Mustang 1 concept car powered by a 1.7 L V4. Despite the small engine of the Mustang 1, Lunn was the only Dearborn's engineer to have some experience with a mid-engined car.
Broadley, Lunn and Wyer began working on the new car at Lola Factory in Bromley. At the end of 1963 the team moved to Slough, England near Heathrow airport. Ford established a new subsidiary under the direction of Wyer, Ford Advanced Vehicles Ltd to manage the project.
The first chassis built by Abbey Panels of Coventry was delivered on March 16, 1963. The first "Ford GT" the GT/101 was unveiled in England on April 1 and soon after exhibited in New York.
The car was powered by the 4.2 L Fairlane engine with a Colotti transaxle, the same power plant was used by the Lola GT and the single-seater Lotus 29 that came in a highly controversial second at the Indy 500 in 1963. (A DOHC head design was used in later years at Indy. It won in 1965 in the Lotus 38.)
The Ford GT was first raced in May 1964 at the Nürburgring 1000 km race and later at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and was not very successful with all three cars retiring. The experience gained then and in 1965 allowed the Mk II to dominate the race in 1966 with a 1-2-3 finish. New Zealand drivers Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon drove the winning Ford GT. Ken Miles was leading at the end of the race when the Ford team, desiring a publicity photo of the three GT40s crossing the finish line together, ordered him to slow down until he was only leading the second place car, driven by McLaren and Amon, by half a car length at the checkered flag. Unknown to Ford, however, the scoring system at Le Mans takes into account the differing distances covered by the cars due to differing positions on the starting grid, and so the McLaren-Amon car, having started further back, became the official winner. Miles was thus denied his deserved unique achievement of winning Sebring, Daytona, and Le Mans in the same year, the last before his death.
The Mk IV, a newer design with a Mk II engine but a different chassis and a different body, won the following year (when four Mark IVs, three Mark IIs and three Mark Is raced).
After a rules change for 1968 which limited the capacity of prototypes to 3.0 L (same as in Formla One), but allowed a maximum of 5.0 L capacity for the Sports category (where at least 50 cars had been built), a revised 4.7 L Mk I won the 24 hours of Le Mans race in 1968 against the fragile smaller prototypes. The GT40's intended 3.0L replacement, the Ford P68, proved to be a dismal failure. In 1969, facing more experienced prototypes and the new yet still unreliable 4.5 L flat-12 powered Porsche 917s, the winners Ickx/Oliver managed to beat the remaining 3.0 L Porsche 908 by just a few seconds with the already outdated GT40 (the same actual car which had won in 1968). Apart from brake wear in the Porsche and the decision not to change pads so close to the race end, the winning combination was relaxed driving by both GT40 drivers and heroic efforts at the right time by (at that time Le Mans' rookie) Jacky Ickx, who would win Le Mans 5 times more in later years. In 1970, the revised Porsche 917 dominated and the GT40 became obsolete
Initially, Ford attempted to buy Ferrari. Much to the surprise of Ford who expected long negotiations, the proposal was welcomed by Enzo Ferrari. A deal had been all but agreed on when Ferrari called the merger off in 1963, after an agreement with Fiat that gave some financial backing to Ferrari, while preserving Ferrari's independence.
A frustrated Henry Ford II decided to produce his own car instead. 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.
Lotus was already a Ford partner for their Indy 500 project. Ford executives already doubted the ability of Lotus to handle this new project. Colin Chapman probably had similar views as he asked a high price for his contribution and insisted that the car should be named Lotus and not Ford, an attitude that can be viewed as polite refusal.
The Lola proposal was chosen, since Lola had used a Ford V8 engine in their mid-engined Lola Mk 6 (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 1962, even though the car didn't finish. However, Broadley agreed on a short-term personal contribution to the project without involving Lola cars.
The agreement with Lola Cars' owner and chief designer Eric Broadley included a one year collaboration between Ford and Broadley and the sale of the two Lola Mk 6 chassis built to Ford. To form the development team, Ford also hired the already ex-Aston Martin team manager John Wyer. Ford Motor Co. engineer Roy Lunn was sent to England. Lunn had designed the mid-engined Mustang 1 concept car powered by a 1.7 L V4. Despite the small engine of the Mustang 1, Lunn was the only Dearborn's engineer to have some experience with a mid-engined car.
Broadley, Lunn and Wyer began working on the new car at Lola Factory in Bromley. At the end of 1963 the team moved to Slough, England near Heathrow airport. Ford established a new subsidiary under the direction of Wyer, Ford Advanced Vehicles Ltd to manage the project.
The first chassis built by Abbey Panels of Coventry was delivered on March 16, 1963. The first "Ford GT" the GT/101 was unveiled in England on April 1 and soon after exhibited in New York.
The car was powered by the 4.2 L Fairlane engine with a Colotti transaxle, the same power plant was used by the Lola GT and the single-seater Lotus 29 that came in a highly controversial second at the Indy 500 in 1963. (A DOHC head design was used in later years at Indy. It won in 1965 in the Lotus 38.)
The Ford GT was first raced in May 1964 at the Nürburgring 1000 km race and later at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and was not very successful with all three cars retiring. The experience gained then and in 1965 allowed the Mk II to dominate the race in 1966 with a 1-2-3 finish. New Zealand drivers Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon drove the winning Ford GT. Ken Miles was leading at the end of the race when the Ford team, desiring a publicity photo of the three GT40s crossing the finish line together, ordered him to slow down until he was only leading the second place car, driven by McLaren and Amon, by half a car length at the checkered flag. Unknown to Ford, however, the scoring system at Le Mans takes into account the differing distances covered by the cars due to differing positions on the starting grid, and so the McLaren-Amon car, having started further back, became the official winner. Miles was thus denied his deserved unique achievement of winning Sebring, Daytona, and Le Mans in the same year, the last before his death.
The Mk IV, a newer design with a Mk II engine but a different chassis and a different body, won the following year (when four Mark IVs, three Mark IIs and three Mark Is raced).
After a rules change for 1968 which limited the capacity of prototypes to 3.0 L (same as in Formla One), but allowed a maximum of 5.0 L capacity for the Sports category (where at least 50 cars had been built), a revised 4.7 L Mk I won the 24 hours of Le Mans race in 1968 against the fragile smaller prototypes. The GT40's intended 3.0L replacement, the Ford P68, proved to be a dismal failure. In 1969, facing more experienced prototypes and the new yet still unreliable 4.5 L flat-12 powered Porsche 917s, the winners Ickx/Oliver managed to beat the remaining 3.0 L Porsche 908 by just a few seconds with the already outdated GT40 (the same actual car which had won in 1968). Apart from brake wear in the Porsche and the decision not to change pads so close to the race end, the winning combination was relaxed driving by both GT40 drivers and heroic efforts at the right time by (at that time Le Mans' rookie) Jacky Ickx, who would win Le Mans 5 times more in later years. In 1970, the revised Porsche 917 dominated and the GT40 became obsolete
posted by JH at
19:36
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