Sunday, January 24, 2016

Ford GT 40 Return To Racing Heritage

Many of you may be too young to remember the excitement of the Ford GT 40 when it took the racing world on, as in Ferrari in the early 60's.  It was born to win Le Mans and it did, thus the legend that lives to this day.  We are in for a treat as it is officially back for the 2016 racing season so keep watching my blog for updates.

In my most recent trip to our upstate New York home I ventured down to the basement archives on a cold January day and found a gem of an old Autoweek issue from September 25, 1989 featuring a story about the GT 40's 25th anniversary party at my home track, Watkins Glen, NY.  This was not just a gathering of old friends, it was a gathering of some of the world's best drivers including six time Le Mans winner Jackie Ickx, along with Stirling Moss, Brian Redman, and Bob Bondurant to name a few!  And the star of the party, the GT 40 was well represented with almost a third of all the GT 40's production run present!  An incredible confluence of drivers, cars and fans that will probably never be duplicated.

So what is so special about the GT 40?  Besides beating Ferrari at le Mans, it is in my opinion one of the most beautiful cars in the world- ever.  That the GT 40 is still contemporary looking decades later is a testament to the beauty of its design. And to continue the tradition, the new  Ford GT is another knock out.

Ironically my second magazine cover on this post is another September issue, but this time it is September 2015 from Road & Track, titled 'The Design Issue'.  And what did they pick to feature on the cover?  The new Ford GT


Here's some pictures and links to some really great videos about the Ford GT 40.   Be sure to play the videos on the links below- it's worth your time.





                And here's some video:

                        Video #1  2016 Ford GT 40

                         Video #2  Classic Ford GT 40

                    Get ready for racing - the Rolex 24 Hour begins the season January 30th.


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