My Favorite CAR # 22:- FORD GT 40 ( 1964-..) Rather like all great Sports teams, to make their mark on the popular consciousness RACING CARS have to WIN the big events !!........FORD took its GT40 into 1 st , 2 nd & 3 rd at the 1966 Le Mans race in FRANCE . But it was not a cake walk........ Henry Ford II had wanted a Ford at Le Mans since the early 1960s. When Ford Company was rebuffed in an audacious bid to buy Ferrari, it promised to build a CAR that would beat the ITALIANS instead ,While this being possibly true , FORD also had some legitimate business reasons for building a NEW SUPER CAR !! ( we are not going into it ..as ....no ..no...NOOOO) The Companys bid to win Le Mans started in 1963, with development Mark 1 GT 40., Intial studies showed that all the essential components could be installed in a vehicle silhouette 156 inches X 40 inches - hence the cars name ( Grand Touring .:-) )- While its shape was developed to be as AERODYNAMIC as possible ..... To keep the size down for example ...The car possessed TWO separate Fuel tanks with separate lids ( filler cap) , however it still had to be relatively comfortable for a Driver , who would be 4 hours at a time :-) ...instead of adjustable seats FORD had Adjustable Pedals , that could be changed depending on the size of the Driver ... ......It took more than TWO years of development even after completion of MK1 GT 40 at april 1964....yes!! Mark 11 - GT 40 achieved the Companys Goals Proof that the Cars appeal was still intact came at the beginning of the NEW MILLINiEUIM , when FORD revived the GT 40 to wide spread acclaim !! Post script : -- FORD GT40 -- A ** American-British** endurance racing car, built and designed in England& in USA ....The **Ford Mk IV GT40**, which won the race in 1967, remains, to this day, the only car designed and built entirely in the United States to claim an overall win at Le Mans
Posted on: Thu, 06 Nov 2014 05:42:45 +0000
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