Ford was becoming frustrated with the continuing success of Enzo Ferrari?s racing machines. It came to a point that Henry Ford II was given an offer by Enzo to buy the company for an unheard of $18 million dollars. The buyout ended up falling through and Ford was left on its own to develop a racing team that could compete on the European circuits. Due to the non compete pact between American automakers, Ford knew it would have to look outside of its Dearborn, Michigan team for talent.
To make a long story short, Ford took over a GT racing project from Lola, hired a prominent racing manager in John Wyer, and then designed the original GT40s to be raced in 1964. The story is much more complex than that, but the legend that would come from this humble beginning is much more important. The initial GT/101 chassis was essentially a loser and Ferrari continued to laugh while running away with victories. By 1965, Carroll Shelby was taken away from his Cobra projects and started developing the next generation of GT40 for Ford. This car gave Ford a win at Daytona in the first race of the very next year.
Ford did develop several very special prototype cars including four roadster versions. Until recently, the GT/111 chassis was thought to have been destroyed long ago, but a chance find in London led to its discovery. Extensive restoration and consequential historic racing had finally brought it to the auction block at RM?s Villa d?Este with a value estimated between $3,900,000-4,700,000.
Hit the jump for more details on the 1965 Ford GT40 Roadster
Ford GT40 Roadster originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 27 May 2011 18:00 EST.
Source: http://www.topspeed.com/cars/ford/1965-ford-gt40-roadster-ar110180.html
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