FORD

GT40

The Ford GT40 is a high-performance endurance racing car with the Mk I, Mk II, and Mk III model cars being based upon the British Lola Mk6, and were designed and built in England, while the GT40 Mk IV model was designed and built in the United States. The range was powered by a series of American-designed and built engines modified for racing. The GT40 won the 24 Hours of Le Mans four consecutive times, from 1966 to 1969 (1966 being the Mk II, 1967 the Mk IV, and 1968–1969 the oldest chassis design, the Mk I), including a 1-2-3 finish in 1966. In 1966, with Henry Ford II personally in attendance at Le Mans, the Mk II GT40 provided Ford with the first overall Le Mans victory for an American manufacturer,[5][6] and the first victory for an American manufacturer at a major European race since Jimmy Murphy's triumph with Duesenberg at the 1921 French Grand Prix. The Mk IV GT40 that won Le Mans in 1967 is the only car designed and built entirely in the United States to achieve the overall win at Le Mans.[7]