the story of ford GT40 is an incredible one. and yes that is steve mcqueen next to the MKIV with taped-up front lights. they did that to protect the headlights from flying debris during the day to limit maintenance in the 24hr race. winner of le mans, bagging 1st, 2nd and 3rd position against ferrari in 1966 is the stuff of legends. if you don’t know about the story of ford and ferrari’s feud, it is worth checking this out. here’s a conclusive look at the ford gt models starting with the prototype. anyone with further knowledge is encourage to make corrections in the comments or just email us to update. that would be much appreciated, as we couldn’t find a single site showing the range of models. thanx.

1964-1965 GT40 108

above and below: henry ford II in the ford GT40 108 prototype roadster back in the USA in 1965

one of the earlier (i believe 1964) ford GT40 models on the race track

 

in 1964 ford attended the lemans but all cars fell behind ferrari due to repeated pitstops credited to massive gas consumption of the mega powered ford engines. finally all ford GT40’s dropped out due to mechanical failure and ferrari as usual took home 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize.

1964 official results “24 heures du mans” otherwise known as “le mans 24-hour race”

1st place – ferrari       2nd place -ferrari       3rd place -ferrari

1964-1965 GT40 MKI

notice the bat mobile wings on this GT40 i had never seen that myself. like back in 1964 ford did not manage to win or even complete the  race with its GT40 prototypes.

1965 official results of the le mans 24-hour race

1st place – ferrari       2nd place -ferrari       3rd place -ferrari

1966 GT40 MKII-MKI

this was the decisive year for henry ford the II and his GT40’s, by now ford had various improved versions of the GT40 MKII and MKI’s in the race driven by australian drives bruce mclaren and chris amon amongst others

the number 5 GT40 in gold and pink livery. in 1966 ford managed to win lemans for the first time, in positions 1, 2 and 3 finally taking vengeance on ferrari for all that enzo ferrari had done to henry ford the II. (more on that story here)

the #2 for GT40 in black white with gold rims driven by bruce mclaren and chris amon (the 24 hr race requires drivers to take turn as its a continues race for 24 hours)

the #2 car finishes first ahead of the other 2 fords.

the trio immortalized in detailed die cast available here for around $2,000

1966 official results of the le mans 24-hour race

1st place – ford       2nd place -ford       3rd place -ford

1967 GT40 MKIV

having wounded ferrari ford had to come back to lemans with a bigger gun. the MKIV was born

but ford wasn’t going to take any chances aside from the 4 GT40 MKIV’s there was also a MKII entered into the race

and the race was on…

ford once again took 1st place but this time ferrari was on its tail on position 2 and 3. the aerodynamic MKIV did not stand up to the test as well as the MKII’s did back in 1966, but winning lemans in 1st place is major accomplishment 2 years in a row for a company known for making mass production models Ts.

1967 official results of the le mans 24-hour race

1st place – ford       2nd place – ferrari       3rd place – ferrari

1968 back to GT40 MKI again

the revised ford GT40 MKI in gulf livery

car number 9 driven by pedro rodriguez and lucien bianchi wind the race

this is also the year actor steve mcqueen films the feature “le mans” using a modified GT40 to mount the camera on

1968 official results of the le mans 24-hour race

1st place – ford again       2nd place – porsche       3rd place – porsche

1969 GT40 MKI

troubles for ford

and yet… ford wins first again for the 4th year in a row… and where is enzo ferrari?

the story and the cars that came out of that story are simply legend and carry with them more than just beauty and power but an attitude of a man bent on making a point. now how can any one not love that? recently a GT40 used by steve mcqueen sold for an unbelievable price of $11,000,000, what a steal. by dd