Ford GT40

12450 Views 54 Replies 11 Participants Last post by supraz, Feb 21, 2021

supraz

Discussion Starter · Jul 6, 2017 (Edited)

I'm in full curmudgeon mode today. It's hot and I just got back from the prairies

7
Ford GT40 Mk I - Prototype

https://www.classicdriver.com/en/article/autos/driven-1965-ford-gt40-roadster

Ford GT40 Mk I - 289 Cubic inch Ford Fairlane motor

http://hiconsumption.com/2016/06/auction-block-1966-ford-gt40-mk-1/

Ford GT40 Mk II -- Aaaah

Just your typical grocery getting Ford sedan motivation 427 Cubic Inch Ford Galaxy motor

Now that's a functional rear end

http://www.finescale.com/product-info/kit-reviews/2009/10/trumpeter-1-12-scale-ford-gt40-mkii

Ford GT40 Mk III - Street Car 289 Cubic inch
Wire Wheels
Sold as a street car from the beginning.

http://www.topcarrating.com/1967-ford-gt40-mk-3-mark-iii.php

Ford GT40 Mk IV
This is the one that makes Italian and German car makers sweat at night
The Mk. IV ran in only two races, the 1967 12 Hours of Sebring and the 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans and won both events.

http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/g5273/photos-1967-ford-gt-40-mk-iv/

Just a couple'a good ol' boys - Dan Gurney and AJ Foyt

http://performance.ford.com/series/...ons-of-ford-performance--mark-iv-engines.html

If you can't beat them, change the rules. That's the only way the Europeans could beat this car.

The Ford GT40 had a long and interesting history.
When Ford wanted to go endurance racing they went to Eric Broadley and Lola Automobiles in England to design a chassis. Ford hamstrung the English by demanding that the chassis be constructed of steel because Ford was more comfortable with this than aluminum. As a result these cars were seriously overweight.
They started with 255 cubic inch small blocks and switched to 289 cubic inch small blocks for the production Mark Is.
If a little is good, a whole pile more is a whole pile better. Ford went with the 427 cubic inch FE big block for the Mark II
The Mark III was a street version of the Mark I and sold to the public in England. 7 were sold. The 289 was detuned to 335 hp.
Ford decided to get serious and totally redesigned the GT40 in the USA by Kar Kraft using aluminum and modern construction techniques.
The GT40 Mark IV is the only time there was a totally American victory at Le Mans. An American car with an American engine driven by American drivers and an American team.

2004-2006 Ford GT

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_GT

Supercharged 5.4L modular V8
A pretty well executed redo of the Ford GT40 Mk III

2016-2020 Ford GT
3.5 liter twin-turbocharged EcoBoost V6 engine making 647 hp

Well, I guess if you go to Home Depot and have to bring some 2x4's home you can stick them in that tunnel.
Okay, okay, it's not THAT bad looking, and it may be aerodynamically efficient, but it's just got too much junk on it.

Oh, and in case you are wondering why the new cars are Ford GTs rather than Ford GT40s, the brain trust at Ford forgot to copyright the name GT40.
A company, Safir Engineering Ltd. copyrighted the name in 1985. In 1999 the name was transferred to Safir GT40 Spares Inc. which makes spare parts for the original Ford GT40s. Safir offered to sell the name to Ford for get this, $40 million! Ford declined.

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SilverMk2

· #9 · Jul 6, 2017

I think you missed the best part of the original GT40. The car was created as a big middle finger to Ferrari to beat them at Le Mans after old man Ferrari screwed Ford. Ferrari won Le Mans for several years straight beforehand and they haven't been back since in an official capacity. The cars originally in their first couple of years were horribly unreliable until they got Ken Miles and Shelby involved. Ford spent a ridiculous amount to money and time to pull it off.

Personally I think the new Ford GT is brilliant. Just like the original it was made to win Le Mans and did it. Although you could kind of argued they were handed the win...

IMO the early 2000s Ford GT is kind of like the MkiV Supra in that they were more popular after they were on sale. Back when they were new they kind of languished on the lot. I think the modability of the car greatly helped it.

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SilverMk2

· #47 · Nov 27, 2019

I liked Ford vs Ferrari or Lemans '66, but all the family parts just drug it out and was pointless IMO. It would have been a lot tighter film if they minimized that and kept it closer to two hours and focused on the racing. Then again I saw a review someone was complaining the film wasn't woke enough and was all white men and not enough alphabet characters :eekfacepalm: so I guess you can't win. They were also a little loose with history and made it seem Carroll Shelby and Ken Miles did everything.

Hobbs and Shaw was ridiculous. After a couple of more FnF movies Dom is going to be pulling wheelies in the Charger on the moon

I guess they're right you start out in petty crimes stealing DVD players and next thing you know you're high jacking nuclear subs in Russia :sarcasm:

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SilverMk2

· #51 · Nov 30, 2019

If anyone is interested in a little more background on Netflix watch "Shelby American" or "24 hour war". Both are from the same director and share some footage. The first focuses on Shelby's career and the Cobra, Daytona, GT40, the GT350 and quickly moves thru the rest. They mention the 2000GT for a minute or two. A lot of good interviews with people that worked there during that time. 24 hr war focuses on the Gt40 and Ferrari and shows both sides.

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