The GT/GT40, my favorite car? Quite possibly. [its actual tied]
The story of my affection starts with Gran Turismo 3. The GT-40 was one of those cars in the game you looked at and said "I'm gonna race til I can afford one." Of course that wasn't gonna because I didn't own a memory card making saving completing the challenges needed to get one next to impossible. Eventually I got a memory card and was able to drive the car, the first thing that got me was the color scheme, cooky but cool, little did I know that these were the colors of champions, the Gulf racing colors. Then there was its shape, it all started at the rear wheel arches which looked like huge hips the roof looked as if it shot out off of the arches like a tangent, the wheel arches then abruptly ended at a sharp line which continued to form the base of the cockpits greenhouse. The front, not so special or connected as the rest of the car, still felt just right. Then the sound, the bloodthirsty carbs has a big contrast against the other fuel injected and turbocharged cars that flooded the game.
At that time the GT40 wasn't my favorite car [the 360 was] and I just saw it as a cool car from the past, until Ford launched the Ford GT Concept. This car prompted me to buy my first car magazine.
The history of the Ford GT40 goes back to the 60s. Ford wanted to buy Ferrari because they wanted some Italian pizazz and sporting pedigree to their line-up. Enzo Ferrari being the proud sonofabitch he is laughed at them and continued with his business. In a symbol of all American pride, Ford needed to show Ferrari he didn't need his cars to win races. Unfortunately due to their inexperience, Ford couldn't build a chassis themselves so they hired Lola [at first their current partners Lotus were suggested but many thought that Ford wanting full naming rights of the car as opposed to previous Lotus-Ford projects helped deter them]. The GT40 [called so as it was 40 inches high] started out unreliable and needed some momentum, so they put 24 hr winner, Carrol Shelby in charge of the project, and the wins started to roll in. Of course with Carrol Shelby being Carrol Shelby, his first fix was to put in bigger engines, 7.0L engines to be exact, monsters compared to Ferrari's 3.0L V12s. This gave Ford a dominating win, coming 1,2 and 3, so far ahead were they that the team decided that they were organize for the cars to tie. The GT40 continued to dominate in the 67, 68 and 69 Le Mans race putting Ferrari to shame and ensuring America got its first Le Mans win.
The GT40 became outdated and Ford decided it didn't need to prove anything else so they discontinued racing and focused on their road cars.
Fast forward to 2002, Ford is celebrating it's 100th anniversary and what better way to do that than resurrect its most iconic models: The Cobra, Mustang, Thunderbird and The GT40. Unfortunately the Cobra didn't make it into production and the GT40's name couldn't be used because it was owned by an extinct company but they continued and the Ford GT was born in all its retro gloriness
So here was Ford teasing us with fresh metal and a familiar face. The lines were wild and very close to original, it was amazing. It was [imho] the first vehicle to start the whole retro futurism phase of the automobile. Ok no sorry that honor goes to the beetle, but it was the same designer responsible for both. The GT Concept was launched to honor Ford's 100th birthday, the 05' Mustang and Thunderbird were also launched around this time. It was in 04 when the big surprise came, it would be put into production. I gasped. Here you have a Ferrari killer wearing the badge of Focus's and Fiesta's. The engine was a custom aluminium dry sump 5.4L supercharged V8 churning out what started at 500hp, quickly grew to 550hp then started being rumored as 600hp+ It was heaven on 4 wheels. I instantly gobbled up a 1:18 scale which I called Shelby.
Michael's elite auto check list:
Racing History - It wore the Gulf Colors, the most wining-est colors in auto history. Won 24hrs of Le Mans '66-'69 with legends such as Bruce McLaren and Jacky Ickx at the wheel
Unique Looks - Too voluptuous to be considered Italian, too curvy to be considered American, too large to be considered British, too raw to be considered German, 100% unique design that lasted 40 years with minimal changes
Underdog factor - both GT and GT40 were launched to shake up Ferrari, both succeeded despite Ford's lack of experience
Simple - lightweight and big block power won its races, no fancy tech stuff, parts for both are carry over from other Fords [Mustangs and such]
Cheap - getting a Ford GT is a discount vs a Ferrari but still steep, an original GT40 is even worse. Best bet, get a replica model. Same crazy experience for a small fraction of the cost.
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