Greg MacLeman gathers – for a world exclusive – two generations of Ford GT with a sublime GT40 MkIII, but which one does he want to take home?
There are faster, prettier, more valuable cars, certainly. But few can hope to match the sheer thrill and blue-collar appeal of our test cars – gathered as a trio for the first time in their history. We’ve been at Ford’s Dunton high-speed test circuit for five minutes and are already struggling to contain schoolboy levels of excitement, pressing our noses to the glass of the brand-new, otherworldly blue GT and eyeing the sumptuous lines of its white predecessor. But one of the three commands our attention like nothing else: the stunning GT40 MkIII.
The story of the GT40 began with a bust-up. Henry Ford II attempted to buy his way into top-flight competition by throwing money at Ferrari, but it ended with a bad-tempered parting of the ways. Ford, peeved at paying for dinner and not even getting a peck on the cheek, threw his weight behind his own Le Mans project. His bloody-mindedness helped to bring together some of the best engineers and race-preparation specialists in the business – Eric Broadley, Roy Lunn, John Wyer and later Carroll Shelby – to create an endurance legend from the acorn of the 1963 Racing Car Show starlet Lola GT.
Despite a shocking performance test for Le Mans that led to two cars being all but destroyed, and an embarrassing defeat to Ferrari’s P2s in 1965, the GT40 was eventually fettled into contention. The 4.7-litre engine was supplanted by the 7-litre V8 from the Galaxie with the introduction of the MkII, and with it in 1966 came a spectacular 1-2-3 clean sweep at Le Mans led (just) by Chris Amon and Bruce McLaren. Ken Miles and Denny Hulme did the heavy lifting, though they were denied a first-place finish by factory orders. Dan Gurney and AJ Foyt landed the spoils the following year, with John Wyer’s cars taking the chequer in 1968 and 1969.
Denne historien er fra April 2018-utgaven av Classic & Sports Car.
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Denne historien er fra April 2018-utgaven av Classic & Sports Car.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
A Breath of Fresh Air- Alfa Romeo's exotic, V8-powered Montreal was like nothing the marque had made before, but can it compare with a Porsche masterpiece, the 911S 2.4?
The stereotype of the ItaloGermanic automotive rivalry is that the Latin car will be brilliant to drive, but poorly built and ergonomically flawed, while the Teutonic will be the opposite. Yet these 2+2 sports coupés both ran against orthodoxy. In the Montreal, Alfa Romeo created an outlandish-looking two-door more comfortable, more powerful and more refined than anything it had produced for decades. Meanwhile, Porsche continued to refine its back-to-front, austere and increasingly aged 911. Neither took a traditional development path, but both created thrilling and individual cars that have echoed through the decades.
Daring to be diminutive
AMC's Gremlin and Pacer, and Ford's much-derided Pinto, led America's response to the threat of imported European compacts
THE LONG WAY ROUND
There is a great tradition of overland trips by Land-Rover, but the tale of this 70s Aussie epic and the car itself was discovered by chance
Handsome cab
The Phantom V limousine marked the beginning of the end for coachbuilder James Young, but this Rolls-Royce represents the craft at its very best
DOING IT FOR THEMSELVES
Racing for their own F1 teams brought some drivers success and an enduring legacy. For others, it turned into a nightmare
20 30 LITRES CYLINDERS, 400BHP......AND MORE THAN A CENTURY OLD
Thunderous torque, flame-spitting stub-exhausts, white-knuckle thrills - and hopefully no spills - aboard a trio of Edwardian racing titans
ICON.
The three top-selling vehicles in the USA in 2023 were pick-ups, topped by the Ford F-Series. This is the truck that started it all
Blurred Lines
lan 'Del' Lines blended the V8 burble of Triumph's open GT with real practicality in his Stag V8 saloons and estates
Home of the brave
The innovative Silverstone proved a hit with keen amateur drivers. To mark its 75th, Healey's club racer returns to the circuit for which it is named
PLAYING ALL THE ANGLES
Alfa Romeo's wild RZ eschewed the jellymould styling of the period to offer a striking, wedge-shaped take on open-topped performance motoring