You Could Add This Ford GT40 to Your Collection This Week
Are you in the market for something special for your car collection? How about one of the greatest American-made vehicles of all time?
A 1967 Ford GT40 is currently up for bid over at Bring a Trailer. The example is from the car’s fourth series, which tried to better the performance of the GT40 that broke through at the Le Mans one year prior.
As documented in countless books and the movie Ford v Ferrari, the GT40 was developed with the sole purpose of ending Ferrari‘s dominance of endurance racing. And in 1966, after a couple of false starts, the GT40 Mk II did just that, finishing 1-2-3 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, just as it had at Daytona and Sebring earlier in the year. Reaching the summit of the sport wasn’t enough for Ford and the car’s mastermind, Carroll Shelby, though. They decided to rework the car’s chassis and bodywork—while leaving its 7.0-liter V-8 untouched—in an attempt to improve its aerodynamics.
1967 Ford GT40 Mk IV
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The resulting Mk IV, or “J-car,” would prove itself to be another formidable race car. It was entered in two races in 1967, the 12 Hours of Sebring and 24 Hours of Le Mans, and was victorious in both. Unfortunately, new engine regulations introduced in 1968 meant its racing days, at least at the top of the sport, were over before it could become a true legend.
The example up for bid, J-10, was an unfinished chassis that was sold as part of a two-car package to Shelby mechanic Charles Agapiou and his brother, Kerry, in 1969. The brothers developed a new open-top body for the car and raced in the Canadian-American Challenge Cup over the next two seasons, where it finished just one of its ten starts. The Agapious would hold onto the car until 1989 when it was sold to a real estate developer who wanted to convert it to its original Mark IV configuration. He’d be unsuccessful in this task, but the current owner, who acquired the car in 1996, would eventually finish the work two decades later.
Inside the GT40 Mk IV
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The car now wears a gorgeous red livery that replicates the look of the 1967 Le Mans-winning Mk IV. It doesn’t have its original mill any longer, but a period-appropriate 7.0-liter V-8 with twin Holley four-barrel carburetors sits in the engine bay. Other features include a four-speed manual gearbox, an independent suspension with coil-over shock absorbers, and four-wheel ventilated disc brakes.
It may not be the most famous version of the GT40, but with only 12 examples being built, the Mk IV is rare. Because of that, it’s little wonder that bidding for the car has already reached $325,000. With three days left to go in the auction—it runs through Thursday afternoon—don’t be surprised to see that number climb even higher.
Click here for more photos of the 1967 Ford GT40 Mk IV.
