World’s rarest Ford is an award-winning classic

Aug 23 , 2017

A one-of-a-kind GT40 that can hit 200 mph may be a bargain — even north of $7 million

A one-of-a-kind GT40 may be a bargain — even north of US$7 million

Driving a Ford GT40 isn’t pleasant. It’s a cramped, loud, and violent experience. After all, the “40” is a reference to the car’s height — in inches. It also hits 200 miles (320km) per hour.

“You have to get over your claustrophobia,” said Michael Prichinello, whose Classic Car Club of Manhattan owns a custom-built replica of the 1960s racer. “You have to shim yourself into the car … you’re basically lying on your back.” There are, however, other adjectives that apply to the experience. Among them are thrilling, fast, and — most critically — historic. Prichinello says it’s his favourite machine (and he gets to drive a lot of impressive machines).

Ford made only 133 GT40s. One of that group is for sale this week in Monterey, Calif. Anyone with several million dollars to spare will be able to drive this unpleasant time machine whenever he or she likes.

The GT40 cockpit is cramped, loud, and air-conditioned only via the open roof.

The lore of the GT40 is, by now, one of the car world’s great creation stories – a sort of Goliath meets Goliath. In the mid-1960s, Henry Ford II, angry over a scuppered deal to buy Ferrari, opened wide his corporate coffers and ordered engineers to build a rig to beat the Italian stallion at Le Mans, the Super Bowl of motorsport where Ferrari dominated.

Two years later, the GT40 did just that. It swept the podium in 1966 and kept winning for the next three years. It was the first model to four-peat the 24-hour competition. It’s point made, Ford scrapped the GT40 in 1969 and didn’t build another car like it for 34 years.

The hood of the GT40 was vented to direct air from under the car over its roof, effectively pushing it down onto the track.

This particular GT40 — chassis No. 108, or GT/108 — is one of 12 prototypes. As such, it has a few quirks that weren’t manifest in the racing machines — most notably, its steel chassis, lack of a roof, and smaller tires than later iterations.

The engine, with its eight cylinders and four carburetors, sits right behind the driver. The body is fiberglass. The speedometer is in front of the passenger seat, the driver’s seat is bolted to the floor, and the pedals don’t adjust. Too short? Get a pillow. Too tall? Tough. All told, the GT40 looks like a cross between a NASA scramjet and a child’s toy, albeit one that belches fire.