Cars
GT 40, Born out of spite
In 1963, spurned by Ferrari, Henry Ford II birthed the GT40, a Le Mans conqueror. Led by Shelby and engineered in England, it defied European dominance. Initial setbacks fueled Shelby's audacity, morphing the GT40 into a powerhouse with a 7.0 engine.
In 1963, Henry Ford II took Enzo Ferrari’s refusal to sell his Maranello company so personally that he decided to create his very own racing department to build a car that would outperform Ferrari at Le Mans. That car was the GT40, a masterpiece deserving of its own tale. It has become so iconic and ingeniously designed that even in its modern reimagined form, it remains highly captivating. The GT40 occupies a special place in automotive history.
Following the Roarington tradition of providing five key insights - who, when, where, how, and why - we uncover the story behind this legendary racer.
__Why:__ let’s begin right here. In the early 1960s, Henry Ford II had tried to acquire a small but prestigious Italian automaker: Ferrari. He was tired of seeing newspapers and TV programs filled with reports of Ferrari’s victories while he had to spend a fortune on advertising just to be noticed. But, despite initially appearing open to the idea, Enzo Ferrari ultimately bluffed, for his true goal was to remain Italian with his beloved red cars. And so it was.
