Original Ford GT40 Mk I road car to be auctioned
If you're within driving distance of Kissimmee, Florida, mark your calendar for mid-January, when Mecum's collector car auctions are held.
Why? Because an original 1966 Ford GT40 Mk I will be offered as one of only 31 road-going models built.
According to the listing, the car, chassis number P/1034, was completed in late 1965 by the British company Ford Advanced Vehicles, which designed and built the first GT40, and was delivered to its owner the following March. The car is believed to be the first GT40 road car delivered to a private owner.
The first owner was James Fielding, chairman of Heenan & Froud, which manufactured the dynamometers Shelby American used to test the GT40. He reportedly sold the car to his neighbor Paul Weldon in 1971 in exchange for a Rolls-Royce. Weldon subsequently drove the car in several amateur events at circuits such as Silverstone and Brands Hatch.
Like many Mk I GT40s, it was powered by a 4.7-liter V-8 engine with Weber carburetors and mated to a 5-speed manual transmission. While the transmission is original, the engine was built by British engineering specialist Mathwall Engineering and dyno tested to 335 horsepower. As a bonus, the car comes with an additional 1966 engine that has been installed since its completion. Also included in the sale is a report by noted GT40 historian Ronnie Spain.
All of the original GT40s are rare, with approximately 105 built in versions ranging from Mk I to Mk IV. The modified Mk II was the version that brought Ford its first Le Mans victory in 1966, driven by Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon, and the redesigned Mk IV repeated the feat the following year; the Mk III was a very limited road-going version with only seven built. only seven were built.
The car is listed as lot S214 in Mecum's Kissimmee auction, which runs from January 7-19.
The GT40 is not the only Le Mans icon up for auction at Mecum; Steve McQueen's Porsche 917 used in the filming of the 1971 cult classic Le Mans will also be offered. Several 917s appear in the film, but chassis 022 was purchased from Porsche by McQueen's Solar Productions, the car he most frequently used for filming.
