2012 Superformance GT40 Coupé

Registration no. HDV 642D Chassis no. GT40P2301

Footnotes

Based on Eric Broadley's Lola GT, the Ford GT40 was spawned by the Dearborn giant's ambition to beat Ferrari at Le Mans, a feat it duly achieved for the first time in 1966 driven by Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon. The GT40 project had commenced three years previously following Ford's failed attempt to buy into Ferrari, and was based at the Ford Advanced Vehicles plant at Slough. The man in charge of the predominantly ex-Lola team was John Wyer, architect of Aston Martin's 1959 Le Mans victory. The GT40 first ran competitively in 1964, but failed at Le Mans that year and in 1965. That first sweet Le Mans victory would fall to the 7-litre Mark II, with victory the following year going to a US-built Mark IV 'J' car. (The GT40 Mark III was the British-built road-going version). Wyer and John Willment had taken over the Slough factory in January 1967, forming J W Automotive Engineering, and with backing from Gulf Oil further developed the GT40, winning Le Mans in 1967 and '68 using chassis number 'P/1075', the first car to win Le Mans twice.

A decade on, and the GT40's status as an all-time great classic sports car had been firmly established, leading to an increased demand for unmolested originals and the start of a replica-building industry. One enthusiast on the lookout for the genuine article at that time was Peter Thorp of Safir Engineering, whose frustration at not being able to find one led him to John Willment. Willment retained a large stock of GT40 spares, tools, jigs and original plans, while Thorp's company Safir had constructed Formula 3 cars. Their discussions led to the obvious conclusion: resources could be pooled and production restarted. 'Mark V' was chosen to designate the mildly up-dated model. The first Safir GT40 was completed in 1980. Although Safir received no financial assistance from Ford, the latter sanctioned of the Mark V project and assisted with obtaining certification for road use. Between them, JW Engineering, Safir and Ford agreed that these 'continuation' cars would be called 'GT40 Mark V Powered by Ford', thus minimising Ford Motor Company's potential liability. Safir later obtained the 'GT40' trademark.

The breathtaking GT40 offered here is the work of Superformance LLC of Irvine, California, a company renowned for the quality of its Shelby Cobra replicas. Indeed, Superformance is the only Cobra builder officially licensed by Carroll Shelby, while its GT40 is the only such continuation licensed by Safir GT40 Spares LLC to use the GT40 trademark. One could not ask for a better pedigree than that.

A right-hand drive example, chassis number '2301' was completed in 2012. The car is built around a pressed steel monocoque, while the suspension components are interchangeable with those of an original GT40. That unmistakable body, complete with driver's-door 'Gurney bubble', is finished in the striking livery of Gulf Oil, one of the most iconic in motor sport, guaranteeing that '2301' will always attract favourable attention wherever it goes. (The decals can be removed easily if required.) The interior features a Moto-Lita steering wheel; ventilated Alcantara-trimmed seats; Willans harnesses; factory installed roll cage; three 12V electrical sockets; correct right-side gear lever; and air-conditioning, the latter considered essential on a road-going GT40. Power is supplied by a 427ci (7.0-litre) Roush-built Shelby V8 engine producing over 550bhp, which is coupled to a ZF gearbox.

The car was registered in the UK in December 2015 and had covered a mere 598 miles from new when it was purchased by the current vendor in 2017. Used sparingly since acquisition (the current odometer reading is 853 miles) and described by the vendor as 'excellent' throughout, this beautifully finished GT40 represents a unique opportunity to acquire a superb example of this iconic sports-racer.