The mini GT40's shown in the picture below were produced and sold in 1965. They were built by Francis Mortarini and his company in France. They were imported to the US by SCAF, USA, Inc. in Flourtown, PA.
A total of 75 GT40's and 75 Ferrari 330P2's were imported. They are 1/2 scale with a 3 hp motor.
We purchased the Heritage Model from Tiny Lund, an exotic car dealer in Florida, in the early 1970's. Later
Chip Miller of Carisle, PA told my brother about one he had seen in a town near Carisle. About 5 years after
Chip mentioned it my brother decided to try to find it. Long story short, it was parked in a chicken coop and
covered with chicken droppings. At that time it was white with a blue stripe. It had been a promotional give-a-way by the local Ford dealer. We had it restored and painted yellow as you can see in the photograph.
We use to take these cars, along with our Cobra, to SAAC meets each summer. At these meets our kids would
drive around and have a good time racing each other. The cars would do less than 20 mph. Other peoples kids could have their picture taken in one of the cars. Of course our kids got too big for the cars and we sold
them. Jacques Vaucher of l'art et l'automobile gallery sold them for us. The Heritage car went to Japan and the
yellow one to someone in the US.
The mini-Cobra pictured was a 1/3 scale. It was a prototype we planned to produce and sell. The company that was suppose to have made them for us went belly up. The prototype was eventually sold to someone in Mexico by Jacques.
Fast forward. Everything that goes around comes around. In 2010 we sold our Cobra (having owned it for 39 years) at Pebble Beach. We originally paid $7500.00 for it. We decided to invest part of the proceeds, from the sale, in a couple of Ford GT's. Guess what colors? Heritage blue and yellow. It was sometime after we received our cars that we remembered that the little cars had been the same colors.
We now have grandkids who would love to drive a small GT40. We recently found 2 GT40's that need to be restored. They are in the process of being restored and will be painted like the original two we had. If you ever
have the opportunity to buy one of mini GT40's do it. They have increased in value tremendously since they were first sold.
To find out the complete story, about the mini GT40's and other mini cars, read Automobile Quarterly, Spring 1968, Volume 6, Number 4, pages 434-443. If you have any questions feel free to call Bill @ 540-366-6677
A total of 75 GT40's and 75 Ferrari 330P2's were imported. They are 1/2 scale with a 3 hp motor.
We purchased the Heritage Model from Tiny Lund, an exotic car dealer in Florida, in the early 1970's. Later
Chip Miller of Carisle, PA told my brother about one he had seen in a town near Carisle. About 5 years after
Chip mentioned it my brother decided to try to find it. Long story short, it was parked in a chicken coop and
covered with chicken droppings. At that time it was white with a blue stripe. It had been a promotional give-a-way by the local Ford dealer. We had it restored and painted yellow as you can see in the photograph.
We use to take these cars, along with our Cobra, to SAAC meets each summer. At these meets our kids would
drive around and have a good time racing each other. The cars would do less than 20 mph. Other peoples kids could have their picture taken in one of the cars. Of course our kids got too big for the cars and we sold
them. Jacques Vaucher of l'art et l'automobile gallery sold them for us. The Heritage car went to Japan and the
yellow one to someone in the US.
The mini-Cobra pictured was a 1/3 scale. It was a prototype we planned to produce and sell. The company that was suppose to have made them for us went belly up. The prototype was eventually sold to someone in Mexico by Jacques.
Fast forward. Everything that goes around comes around. In 2010 we sold our Cobra (having owned it for 39 years) at Pebble Beach. We originally paid $7500.00 for it. We decided to invest part of the proceeds, from the sale, in a couple of Ford GT's. Guess what colors? Heritage blue and yellow. It was sometime after we received our cars that we remembered that the little cars had been the same colors.
We now have grandkids who would love to drive a small GT40. We recently found 2 GT40's that need to be restored. They are in the process of being restored and will be painted like the original two we had. If you ever
have the opportunity to buy one of mini GT40's do it. They have increased in value tremendously since they were first sold.
To find out the complete story, about the mini GT40's and other mini cars, read Automobile Quarterly, Spring 1968, Volume 6, Number 4, pages 434-443. If you have any questions feel free to call Bill @ 540-366-6677
