Ford GT40

Ford attempted to buy Ferrari in 1963, and when they failed, it was all-out war on the race track. Ford joined with Lola to turn the Lola GT into the prototype Ford GT, then in 1964 came out with the GT40, so called because it stood just 40 inches (1016mm) high. They weren't very successful and failed to finish in any races. But with huge resources the programme continued with Carroll Shelby at the helm, and in 1965 production of the road-going GT40 started for homologation plus a GT40 won its first race. In 1966 three GT40s fitted with 427 big-block engines took Le Mans with a 1-2-3 win, beating Ferrari. After this the cars used the smaller 289ci (4.7-liter) V8s, but were just as successful. They had a sheet steel semi-monocoque with separate subframes for the rear engine and gearbox, and very deep sills (where the fuel cells were housed) meant the whole structure was extremely stiff.

Ford GT40 Specifications