Well, while everybody has been focused on the newest weapon from Ford (Mustang GTD), I have been looking more at past legends:
My Ford GT collection is now complete (or, as complete as it likely ever will be). In addition to my red 2006 Ford GT and my matching red 2021 Carbon Series Ford GT, I now have a red 1966 MKII Ford GT40!
Is this a genuine, $10-20 million original 1966 Ford GT40? No, of course not. But let me tell you what this is- probably the most perfect recreation of a specific MKII GT40 out there. So perfect, that Ford Motor Company has repeatedly sought to use it for various promotions, and THIS is THE car used for all of the sound recordings for the GT40’s in the movie “Ford v Ferrari” (also known in Europe as “LeMans ‘66”). It was also featured in a Petrolicious video:
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6mbaoz
Perhaps the most special thing about this car is that it is actually a fusion of original GT40 parts and a Superformance GT40. Mind you, Superformance is already the official producer of licensed “continuation” GT40’s (under license from Safir Spares), and are considered to be “real” GT40’s (albeit not originals, as they are still being produced today). They are all in the Shelby Registry, and all of that. So they are great cars already. But the builder of my car (Ted Baird) had a vision beyond that: to accurately recreate the 1966 MKII GT40 that was driven by Dan Gurney in LeMans in 1966, where he actually was second only to Ken Miles for the first 18 hours, until a cooling issue that lead to a blown head gasket took him out of the race. Over many years, Ted had collected as many original GT40 parts as he could. He was unable to acquire an original chassis to use these parts on, so he bought a complete Superformance GT40 and immediately stripped it down and fitted all of his original GT40 parts to the car. MAJOR components, like (get this!) an entire rear clamshell from a Ken Miles-raced GT40 (supposedly acquired from a jilted ex-Shelby employee) … the rear air vent from a Mario Andretti-raced GT40… the two rear aluminum “suitcases” from another LeMans-raced GT40!! Correct 1961 Corvair tail lights.. 1966 Lucas rearview mirror... the list goes on. Lee Holman (of Holman and Moody) holds this car in high regard:
I saw this car advertised for sale a few years back, and the timing was bad, I couldn’t convince my wife, etc etc. Later, I realized I had made a huge mistake, since this car was the most perfect choice to complete my collection, short of an 8-figure original. It was even the right color! When I recently saw it was available again, I was very conflicted- the timing was even worse than before, but I knew I couldn’t let it slip away this time! I made it happen, and from the moment the car arrived and I fired this absolute beast up, I knew I would never regret the decision. Driving it is a MUCH more visceral experience than the other two more modern cars. After all, it is a pure racecar. Nothing softened up about it for the driver. It has been a while since I have been enamored this much with a new car.
Here are some more cool videos of it:
My Ford GT collection is now complete (or, as complete as it likely ever will be). In addition to my red 2006 Ford GT and my matching red 2021 Carbon Series Ford GT, I now have a red 1966 MKII Ford GT40!
Is this a genuine, $10-20 million original 1966 Ford GT40? No, of course not. But let me tell you what this is- probably the most perfect recreation of a specific MKII GT40 out there. So perfect, that Ford Motor Company has repeatedly sought to use it for various promotions, and THIS is THE car used for all of the sound recordings for the GT40’s in the movie “Ford v Ferrari” (also known in Europe as “LeMans ‘66”). It was also featured in a Petrolicious video:
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6mbaoz
Perhaps the most special thing about this car is that it is actually a fusion of original GT40 parts and a Superformance GT40. Mind you, Superformance is already the official producer of licensed “continuation” GT40’s (under license from Safir Spares), and are considered to be “real” GT40’s (albeit not originals, as they are still being produced today). They are all in the Shelby Registry, and all of that. So they are great cars already. But the builder of my car (Ted Baird) had a vision beyond that: to accurately recreate the 1966 MKII GT40 that was driven by Dan Gurney in LeMans in 1966, where he actually was second only to Ken Miles for the first 18 hours, until a cooling issue that lead to a blown head gasket took him out of the race. Over many years, Ted had collected as many original GT40 parts as he could. He was unable to acquire an original chassis to use these parts on, so he bought a complete Superformance GT40 and immediately stripped it down and fitted all of his original GT40 parts to the car. MAJOR components, like (get this!) an entire rear clamshell from a Ken Miles-raced GT40 (supposedly acquired from a jilted ex-Shelby employee) … the rear air vent from a Mario Andretti-raced GT40… the two rear aluminum “suitcases” from another LeMans-raced GT40!! Correct 1961 Corvair tail lights.. 1966 Lucas rearview mirror... the list goes on. Lee Holman (of Holman and Moody) holds this car in high regard:
I saw this car advertised for sale a few years back, and the timing was bad, I couldn’t convince my wife, etc etc. Later, I realized I had made a huge mistake, since this car was the most perfect choice to complete my collection, short of an 8-figure original. It was even the right color! When I recently saw it was available again, I was very conflicted- the timing was even worse than before, but I knew I couldn’t let it slip away this time! I made it happen, and from the moment the car arrived and I fired this absolute beast up, I knew I would never regret the decision. Driving it is a MUCH more visceral experience than the other two more modern cars. After all, it is a pure racecar. Nothing softened up about it for the driver. It has been a while since I have been enamored this much with a new car.
Here are some more cool videos of it:
. Well and go for a ride in my favorite car of yours
Congrats Champ. 