Ford GT40 Prototype

About this model

With the 1961 instigation of Ford’s ‘Total Performance’ marketing campaign, Henry Ford II sought to recapture the attention of younger buyers. Two years later, Ford jumped head-first into NASCAR, winning 24 of the 51 races that season, and increasing sales by 32 percent. However, despite success on the home front, Europe remained unconquered.

Meanwhile, in February 1963, Ferrari, who was growing tired of producing road cars, sent a letter to Ford, anonymously offering for sale a ‘small, but nevertheless internationally known Italian automobile factory'. Ford leapt at the chance, sending a team to negotiate, which, despite initially seeming positive, fell at the typical hurdle of financial autonomy. The 14 Ford employees returned to Michigan with their tails between their legs, not knowing that what seemed like failure would instigate one of the world’s most iconic racing cars.

Seeking racing expertise in the UK, Ford’s spotlight set on Lola, who were racing the Mk6 GT at the time. Recruiting company boss Eric Broadley, the plan was to place Lola on hiatus for a while, while the Ford-Lola team morphed the Mk6 GT into a force to be reckoned with. John Wyer was also poached from Aston Martin and secured a larger base for the operation in Slough.

Ford insisted on building the chassis from durable steel, as opposed to the lightweight alloy Broadley had become accustomed to, with the first delivered from Abbey Panels in March 1964. With just 16 days before the press launch, the team scrambled to assemble a car ahead of its debut. Akin to the Mk6 GT, a 4.3-litre Ford V8 was mid-mounted, driving power through a four-speed Colotti transaxle, Girling disc brakes and Borrani wire wheels.

Shown in the American racing colours of white and dark blue, the Ford GT wowed the media and was back testing just a week later; the focus was to have two cars ready for the Le Mans Test that April. Up to that point, Ford had accumulated just 426 test miles on short, low-speed circuits and Le Mans proved what Broadley feared; the tail generated lift, resulting in Jo Schlesser losing control at over 150 mph. Following this, a rear spoiler was added and the front end modified to protect the headlights and improve cooling.

Broadley, however, was growing tired of working with Ford. Wyer, negotiating a separation, saw the establishment of Ford Advanced Vehicles (FAV) in a larger Slough factory, and his appointment as Managing Director. Through the rest of the 1964 season, the GTs struggled with reliability, finishing their Le Mans debut with only the lap record as a consolation prize.

Ford was incredibly disappointed with the return on his investment, so saw Shelby American introduced to spearhead development. The looming introduction of Group 4 and its 50-car production requirement seemed like an opportunity for a ‘production’ GT, leaving Wyer and FAV to handle operations while Shelby forged ahead with a full-fat, Group 6 GT.

Ken Miles tested the GT prototype, finding it, bluntly, ‘bloody awful’. The Borranis were then swapped for Halibrands, the bodywork further modified for downforce and cooling, and Colotti’s fragile gears exchanged for bespoke Ford units.

Three GT prototypes lined up to start the first round of the 1965 World Sportscar Championship, the Daytona Continental, and showed their worth by finishing first and third. Similar success was achieved at Sebring, where Miles and Bruce McLaren brought a GT home to second overall, For that year’s edition of the Le Mans Test, four prototypes, now sporting the larger 4.7-litre Ford V8 engines, were entered, including an open-top GT, intended to save weight. Ford secured third, fourth, sixth and seventh; a much better outing than a year previous.

Still, more power, less weight and a reliable transmission were paramount, especially before Le Mans. Trialling new ideas at the American subsidiary Kar Kraft, the GT was fitted with a torquey Ford 7.0-litre V8, as seen in NASCAR mated to their own four-speed transmission. This increased the weight by 54 kg, necessitating uprated suspension to boot and, despite aerodynamic teething problems, the ‘Mk II’ debuted in prototype form at the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans. Unfortunately, reliability was still an issue and every Ford failed to finish.

The 1965 season proved more successful, but more development was required if Ford wanted to win at Le Mans. GT40 Mk I production was in full swing and, subsequently, the GT prototypes were retired from active duty.