Editing Ford GT40 (section)

== History ==
[[Henry Ford II]] had wanted a Ford at Le Mans since the early 1960s. In early 1963, Ford reportedly received word through a European intermediary that [[Enzo Ferrari]] was interested in selling to Ford Motor Company. Ford reportedly spent several million dollars in an audit of Ferrari factory assets and in legal negotiations, only to have Ferrari unilaterally cut off talks at a late stage due to disputes about the ability to direct open-wheel racing. Ferrari, who wanted to remain the sole operator of his company's motorsports division, was angered when he was told that he would not be allowed to race at the [[Indianapolis 500]] if the deal went through, since Ford fielded Indy cars using its own engine and didn't want competition from Ferrari. Enzo cut the deal off out of spite and Henry Ford II, enraged, directed his racing division to find a company that could build a Ferrari-beater on the world endurance-racing circuit.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Ford GT40.|last=Ray.|first=Hutton|isbn=978-1907085680|page=12|oclc=1019613496|date = 6 February 2018|publisher=Porter Press }}</ref>

To this end, Ford began negotiation with [[Lotus Cars|Lotus]], [[Lola Cars|Lola]], and [[Cooper Car Company|Cooper]]. Cooper had no experience in GT or prototype and its performances in [[Formula One]] were declining.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5oRmCgAAQBAJ&q=Cooper+and+gt+ford&pg=PA20|title=Ford GT: How Ford Silenced the Critics, Humbled Ferrari and Conquered Le Mans|last=Lerner|first=Preston|date=2015-11-09|publisher=Motorbooks|isbn=9780760347874|language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Lola Mk6 GT front.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Lola Mk6]] that the GT40 was developed from]]

The Lola proposal was chosen since Lola had used a Ford V8 engine in its mid-engined [[Lola Mk6]] (also known as Lola GT). It was one of the most advanced racing cars of the time and made a noted performance in Le Mans 1963, even though the car did not finish, due to low gearing and slow revving out on the [[Mulsanne Straight]]. However, [[Eric Broadley]], Lola Cars' owner and chief designer, agreed on a short-term personal contribution to the project without involving Lola Cars.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jO8Ad4W-JQ8C&q=Eric+Broadley+ford+gt&pg=PA17|title=Ford GT: Then, and Now|last=Streather|first=Adrian|date=2006|publisher=Veloce Publishing Ltd|isbn=9781845840549|language=en}}</ref>

The agreement with Broadley included a one-year collaboration between Ford and Broadley, and the sale of the two Lola Mk 6 chassis builds to Ford. To form the development team, Ford also hired the ex-[[Aston Martin]] team manager [[John Wyer]].<ref name=scm201211>{{cite journal|last=Comer|first=Colin|title=1968 Ford GT40 Gulf/Mirage Lightweight|journal=[[Sports Car Market]]|date=November 2012|volume=24|issue=11|pages=46–47}}</ref> Ford Motor Co. engineer [[Roy Lunn]] was sent to England; he had designed the mid-engined [[Ford Mustang I|Mustang I]] concept car, making him the only Dearborn engineer to have some experience with that configuration.

Overseen by [[Harley Copp]], the team of Broadley, Lunn, and Wyer began working on the new car at the Lola Factory in Bromley. At the end of 1963, the team moved to [[Slough]], near [[Heathrow Airport]]. Ford then established [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] Advanced Vehicles (FAV) Ltd, a new subsidiary under the direction of Wyer, to manage the project.<ref name=scm201211/>

The first chassis built by [[Abbey Panels]] of Coventry was delivered on 16 March 1964, with fibreglass mouldings produced by Fibre Glass Engineering Ltd of [[Farnham]]. The first "Ford GT" the GT/101 was unveiled in England on 1 April and soon after exhibited in New York. Purchase price of the completed car for competition use was £5,200.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gt40.co.uk/gt40st16.html|title=Ford Press Release, January 1966. Ford GT40 Web Site Index GT 40 Replica Kit Sports Cars Le Mans Racing Sundt|work=gt40.co.uk}}</ref>

It was powered by the 4.7&nbsp;L [[Ford Windsor engine#289 HiPo (K-code)|HiPo (K-code) 289]] cu in [[Ford Fairlane (Americas)|Fairlane]] engine with a [[Colotti Trasmissioni|Colotti]] transaxle.  An aluminium block DOHC version, known as the Ford Indy Engine, was used in later years at Indy,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.quadcamford.com/development.html |title=Development of the Quad Cam Ford engine |access-date=2016-05-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314065909/http://www.quadcamford.com/development.html |archive-date=14 March 2016 }}</ref> where it won in 1965 in the Lotus 38.

=== Racing history ===
[[File:1964 Ford GT40 proto GT.104.jpg|thumb|left|Prototype chassis GT 104, which finished third at the Daytona 2000 in 1965]]

The Ford GT40 was first raced in May 1964 at the [[Nürburgring 1000 km]] where it retired with suspension failure after holding second place early in the event. Three weeks later at the [[24 Hours of Le Mans]], all three entries retired, although the Ginther/Gregory car led the field from the second lap until its first pitstop. After a season-long series of dismal results under John Wyer in 1964, the program was handed over to [[Carroll Shelby]] after the [[Bahamas Speed Week|1964 Nassau race]]. The cars were sent directly to Shelby, still bearing the dirt and damage from the Nassau race. Carroll Shelby was noted for complaining that the cars were poorly maintained when he received them, but later information revealed the cars were packed up as soon as the race was over, and FAV never had a chance to clean and organize the cars to be transported to Shelby.

Shelby's first victory came on their maiden race with the Ford program, with [[Ken Miles]] and [[Lloyd Ruby]] taking a Shelby American-entered Ford GT40<ref>[http://www.racingsportscars.com/covers/_Daytona-1965-02-28e.jpg ''Entries for the fourth annual Daytona Continental'', 1965 Daytona Speedweeks Program No 2, 15–28 February 1965, www.racingsportscars.com] Retrieved 7 June 2015</ref> to victory in the [[24 Hours of Daytona#2000 km distance|Daytona 2000km]] in February 1965. One month later, Ken Miles and [[Bruce McLaren]] came in second overall (to the winning [[Chaparral Cars|Chaparral]] in the sports class) and first in prototype class at the Sebring 12-hour race. The rest of the season, however, was a disappointment.

[[File:1965 Ford GT40 Mark I at Greenwich, front right 1.jpg|thumb|GT40 Mk I (chassis P/1030), later modified by Ford Advanced Vehicles in August 1967 to be street legal <ref>{{cite web  |title='GT40 P/1030'|url=http://gt40.net/gt40-chassis-numbers/gt40-p1030/|website=GT40 Archives|date=19 January 2011 |access-date=12 October 2024}}</ref>]]

The experience gained in 1964 and 1965 allowed the 7-liter Mk II to dominate the following year. In February, the GT40 again won at Daytona. This was the first year [[24 Hours of Daytona#24 Hour duration (1966–1971)|Daytona was run in the 24 hour format]] and Mk II's finished 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. In March, at the [[1966 12 Hours of Sebring]], GT40s again took all three top finishes, with the X-1 Roadster first, a Mk II taking second, and a Mk I in third. Then in June, at the [[1966 24 Hours of Le Mans|24 Hours of Le Mans]], the GT40 achieved yet another 1–2–3 result.

The "orchestrated" Le Mans finish, however, was clouded in controversy: The No1 car of Ken Miles and [[Denny Hulme]] held a four lap lead over the No2 car of Bruce McLaren and [[Chris Amon]]. This disintegrated when the No1 car was forced to make a pit-stop for replacement brake rotors, following an incorrect set being fitted a lap prior in a scheduled rotor change. It was found to be a result of the correct brake rotors being taken by the No2 crew.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Considine |first1=Tim |title=Foul play in Ford's 1966 le Mans 24 Hour photo finish? 'Yanks at le Mans' extract |url=https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/articles/sports-cars/le-mans/foul-play-fords-1966-le-mans-24-hour-photo-finish-yanks-le-mans-extract |website=MotorSport |date=25 June 2019 |access-date=12 June 2020}}</ref>
This meant that in the final few hours, the Ford GT40 of New Zealanders Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon closely trailed the leading Ford GT40 driven by Englishman Ken Miles and New Zealander Denny Hulme. With a multimillion-dollar program finally on the very brink of success, Ford team officials faced a difficult choice. They could allow the drivers to settle the outcome by racing each other—and risk one or both cars breaking down or crashing; they could dictate a finishing order to the drivers—guaranteeing that one set of drivers would be extremely unhappy; or they could arrange a tie, with the McLaren/Amon and Miles/Hulme cars crossing the line side by side.

The team chose the latter and informed Shelby. He told McLaren and Miles of the decision just before the two got into their cars for the final stint. Then, not long before the finish, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), organizers of the Le Mans event, informed Ford that the geographical difference in starting positions would be taken into account at a close finish. This meant that the McLaren/Amon vehicle, which had started perhaps {{convert|60|ft|m}} behind the Hulme-Miles car, would have covered slightly more ground over the 24 hours and would, in the event of a tie for first place, be the winner. Secondly, Ford officials admitted later, the company's contentious relationship with Miles, its top contract driver, placed executives in a difficult position. They could reward an outstanding driver who had been at times extremely difficult to work with, or they could decide in favor of drivers (McLaren/Amon) who had committed less to the Ford program but who had been easier to deal with. Ford stuck with the orchestrated photo finish. What happened on the last lap remains the subject of speculation. Either Miles, deeply bitter over this decision after his dedication to the program, issued his own protest by suddenly slowing just yards from the finish and letting McLaren across the line first, or [[Bruce McLaren]] accelerated just before the finish line robbing Miles of his victory. Either way, McLaren's car was declared the victor.

Neither driver had many opportunities to elaborate on the event, as both died testing new race cars, McLaren in 1970. Already two months later in 1966 Ken Miles died at the wheel of the Ford "J-car" at [[Riverside Raceway]]. The J-car was a GT40 prototype that included several unique features, most notably an aluminium-honeycomb chassis construction and a "bread-van" body-design that experimented with "[[Kammback]]" aerodynamic theories. Miles' fatal accident was attributed at least partly to the unproven aerodynamics of the J-car design, and to the experimental chassis' strength that had no roll cage yet.

The team embarked on a complete redesign of the car, which became known as the Mk&nbsp;IV. The Mk&nbsp;IV newer design, with a Mk&nbsp;II engine but a different chassis and a different body, won [[1967 24 Hours of Le Mans|the following year at Le Mans]] (when four Mark&nbsp;IVs, three Mark&nbsp;IIs, and three Mark&nbsp;Is raced). The high speeds achieved in that race caused a rule change, which already came into effect in 1968: the prototypes were limited to the capacity of 3.0 litres, the same as in [[Formula One]] since 1966. This took out the V12-powered [[Ferrari P#330 P4|Ferrari 330P]], the Chaparral V8, [[Jaguar XJ13]] V12 and the Ford Mk&nbsp;IV.

The rule change of late 1967 meant that there would be few prototype entries in early 1968, most of them of (too) small capacity, like 2.0 litre [[Alfa Romeo Tipo 33]] and 2.2 litre [[Porsche 907]], later 3.0 litre [[Porsche 908]]. Ferrari remained absent in protest. Most of the few F1 engines were too unreliable for endurance, let alone 24 hours. Ford's own Cosworth V8 had been introduced to F1 in 1967, where it was a success into the early 1980s, but vibrations prevented it from succeeding in endurance racing ([[Ford P68]] and others), even though the 1975 and 1980s Le Mans races were won with Ford Cosworth engines, after Matra had won 1972 to 1974 with their V12.

To attract more entrants that could compete for overall wins, existing sportscars like the GT40 and the [[Lola T70]] were allowed, with a maximum of 5.0&nbsp;l if at least 50 cars had been built. [[John Wyer]]'s team revised the 4.7-liter, bored to 4.9 litre, and [[O-ring]]s cut and installed between the [[Cylinder block|block]] and [[Cylinder head|head]] to prevent [[head gasket]] failure, a common problem found with the 4.7 engine. The JWA Mk I won the [[1968 24 Hours of Le Mans|24 hours of Le Mans race in 1968]] against the fragile smaller 3.0 litre prototypes from Porsche, Alfa and others. This result, added to four other WC round wins for the GT40, gave Ford unexpected victory in the [[1968 World Sportscar Championship|1968 International Championship for Makes]]. The GT40's intended 3.0&nbsp;l replacements, the [[Ford P68]], and John Wyer JWA Gulf Mirage cars proved a dismal failure. While facing more experienced prototypes and the new yet still unreliable 4.5&nbsp;l [[Flat-12 engine|flat-12]]-powered [[Porsche 917]]s, Wyer's [[1969 24 Hours of Le Mans]] winners [[Jacky Ickx]]/[[Jackie Oliver]] managed to beat the remaining 3.0-liter [[Porsche 908]] by just a few seconds with the already outdated GT40 Mk&nbsp;I, in the very car that had won in 1968 – the legendary chassis GT40P/1075. Apart from brake-wear in the Porsche and the decision not to change brake-pads so close to the end of the race, the winning combination was relaxed driving by both GT40 drivers and heroic efforts at the right time by Ickx (at that time Le Mans' rookie), who would go on to win Le Mans five more times in later years.

=== Le Mans 24 Hours victories ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="9" style="background:skyBlue; text-align:center; border-bottom:3px solid;"|[[24 Hours of Le Mans|Le Mans 24 Hours]] victories
|-
| rowspan="2" |Year || rowspan="2" |Car || rowspan="2" |Team || rowspan="2" |Drivers || rowspan="2" |Engine || rowspan="2" |Tyre || rowspan="2" |Distance<br />in km || colspan="2"|Speed
|-
| mph || km/h
|-
| [[1966 24 Hours of Le Mans|1966]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sportscars.tv/Newfiles/66entrylist.html|title=Le Mans 1966 Entry List|website=sportscars.tv}}</ref> || GT40P/1046 (Mk&nbsp;II) || {{Flagicon|United States}} [[Carroll Shelby International|Shelby-American Inc.]] || {{flagicon|NZL}} [[Bruce McLaren]]<br />{{flagicon|NZL}} [[Chris Amon]] || [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] 7.0L V8 || {{Goodyear}} || 4843.09 ||125.39
| 201.80
|-
| [[1967 24 Hours of Le Mans|1967]] || J5 (Mk&nbsp;IV) || {{Flagicon|United States}} [[Carroll Shelby International|Shelby-American Inc.]] || {{Flagicon|United States}} [[Dan Gurney]]<br />{{Flagicon|United States}} [[A. J. Foyt]] || [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] 7.0L V8 || {{Goodyear}} || 5232.9 || 135.48 || 218.03
|-
| [[1968 24 Hours of Le Mans|1968]] || GT40P/1075 (Mk&nbsp;I) || {{Flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[John Wyer]] Automotive Engineering Ltd. || {{Flagicon|Mexico}} [[Pedro Rodríguez (racing driver)|Pedro Rodriguez]]<br />{{Flagicon|Belgium}} [[Lucien Bianchi]] || [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] 4.9&nbsp;L V8 || {{Firestone}} || 4452.88 || 115.29 || 185.54
|-
| [[1969 24 Hours of Le Mans|1969]] || GT40P/1075 (Mk&nbsp;I) || {{Flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[John Wyer]] Automotive Engineering Ltd. || {{Flagicon|Belgium}} [[Jacky Ickx]]<br />{{Flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Jackie Oliver]] || [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] 4.9&nbsp;L V8 || {{Firestone}} || 4997.88 || 129.40 || 208.25
|}

=== International titles ===
In addition to four consecutive overall Le Mans victories, Ford also won the following four [[Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile#FIA World Championships|FIA international titles]] (at what was then unofficially known as the [[World Sportscar Championship]]) with the GT40 car:
* [[1966 World Sportscar Championship|1966 International Manufacturers Championship]]&nbsp;– [[Sports prototype]] category (over 2000cc)
* [[1966 World Sportscar Championship|1966 International Championship for Sports Cars]]&nbsp;– [[Grand tourer|Grand Touring (GT)]] category (division III - over 2000cc)
* [[1967 World Sportscar Championship|1967 International Championship for Sports Cars]]&nbsp;– Grand Touring (GT) category (division III - over 2000cc)
* [[1968 World Sportscar Championship|1968 International Championship for Makes]]&nbsp;– Sports prototype category