The Ford GT40 is a high-performance endurance racing car designed and built by the Ford Motor Company. It grew out of the "Ford GT" (for Grand Touring) project, an effort to compete in European long-distance sports car races, against Ferrari, who had won the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans race from 1960 to 1965. Ford succeeded with the GT40, winning the 1966 through 1969 races.
The effort began in the early 1960s when Ford Advanced Vehicles began to build the GT40 Mk I car, based upon the Lola Mk6, at their base in Slough, UK. After disappointing race results, the engineering team was moved in 1964 to Dearborn, Michigan, USA to design and build cars by Kar Kraft. All chassis versions were powered by a series of American-built Ford V8 engines modified for racing.
In 1966, Ford with the GT40 Mk II car broke Ferrari's winning streak at Le Mans, thus becoming the first American manufacturer to have won a major European race since Jimmy Murphy's triumph with Duesenberg at the 1921 French Grand Prix. In 1967, the Mk IV car became the only car developed and assembled entirely (both chassis and engine) in the United States...
Mr. Bacon
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