What’s more enticing than one of the final second-generation Ford GTs? What about an original example of the legendary car that inspired it? A GT40 press car from the late 1960s was just listed for sale by U.K.-based PistonHeads. The coupe, which has been restored to its original specification, is one of just 31 Mk I examples built for road use.
There may be more famous American-designed vehicles, like the Chevrolet Corvette, but none have a pedigree that can match that of the GT40. As anyone who’s seen Ford v Ferrari knows, the sports car was designed and developed with the sole purpose of ending Ferrari’s dominance of endurance racing. It would take a couple of years, but it eventually achieved its goal, taking the checkered flag at the 24 Hours of Le Mans four straight times between 1966 and 1969. Ford built 105 examples of the car across four iterations—the Marks I, II, III, and IV—during the six years it was in production.
This example, chassis P/1069, was commissioned by Ford U.S.A. and immediately loaned to a Swiss company with ties to Scuderia Filipinetti, according to PistonHeads. It rolled off the line with a Silver Blue paint job but was re-finished in Borneo Green before being displayed at the 1967 Geneva Motor Show. Afterwards, Ford’s U.K. team loaned the vehicle to the British press for photo shoots and took it to the Genevra Motor Show again in 1969. It was then acquired by a private collector two years later, who’d repaint and then spend years racing it before selling it to its current owner in 2007.
Since then, the car has been restored to its original factory condition, meaning it’s again finished in Silver Blue with white Ford graphics. It still has all the details exclusive to road-spec GT40s, including carpet, fabric door pockets and wire wheels. In the engine bay, you’ll find a 4.7-liter V-8, which, while smaller than the mill found in the race car, can still churn out a highly respectable 380 hp and 312 ft-lbs of torque.
Be prepared to spend big if you want to add this GT40 press car to your collection. There’s no price mentioned in the listing, but Hagerty values a good-condition Mk I—and not even a concours-quality example—at approximately RM26 million.
