Henry Ford II had wanted a Ford at Le Mans since the early 1960s. 2.6 Continuation models, replicas and modernizations.The contemporary Ford GT is a modern homage to the GT40. Once "production" began, the Mk I, Mk II, Mk III, and Mk IV were numbered GT40P/1000 through GT40P/1145, and thus officially "GT40s".
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The first 12 "prototype" vehicles carried serial numbers GT-101 to GT-112. The "40" represented its height of 40 inches (1.02 m), measured at the windshield, the minimum allowed. Its American Ford V8 engine, originally of 4.7-liter displacement capacity ( 289 cubic inches), was enlarged to 4.9 liters ( 302 cubic inches), with custom alloy Gurney– Weslake cylinder heads. (This Ford/Shelby chassis, #P-1075, was believed to have been the first until the Ferrari 275P chassis 0816 was revealed to have won the 1964 race after winning the 1963 race in 250P configuration and with a 0814 chassis plate ). The Mk I, the oldest of the cars, won in 19, the second chassis to win Le Mans more than once. In 1967, the Mk IV became the only car designed and built entirely in the United States to achieve the overall win at Le Mans.
In 1966, the GT40 Mk II broke Ferrari's streak at Le Mans, notching the first win for an American manufacturer in a major European race since Jimmy Murphy's triumph with Duesenberg at the 1921 French Grand Prix.
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The range was powered by a series of American-built Ford V8 engines modified for racing. After disappointing race results, the engineering team was moved in 1964 to Dearborn, Michigan (Kar Kraft). The effort began in the early 1960s when Ford Advanced Vehicles began to build the GT40 Mk I, based upon the Lola Mk6, at their base in Slough, UK. Ford succeeded with the GT40, winning the 1966 through 1969 races.
It grew out of the "Ford GT" (for Grand Touring) project, an effort to compete in European long-distance sports car races against Ferrari, which won every 24 Hours of Le Mans race from 1960 to 1965. The Ford GT40 is a high-performance endurance racing car commissioned by the Ford Motor Company.