Back in 1969, Ford built a race car with the intention of beating every other manufacturer in one of the most gruelling races on earth — the 24 Hours of Le Mans. While they had won the three previous years, and one with our own Bruce McLaren at the wheel, the Gulf car was the most iconic.
After a shaky start to the race with a few accidents, the two GT40s that were entered made their way up to 12th and 15th place, fast forward 12 hours, they had made their way up to second and third, and one managed to overtake the leading Porsche to take the win, with the other finishing third.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of this monumental Ford achievement, licensed replica builders Superformance have decided to start building exact copies of the car that raced all those years ago.
Famous for building a range of collector car replicas, Superformance currently builds a range of old gems from Ferrari Daytona coupes to Corvette Grand Sports to factory spec.
As well as being the most successful Ford GT to race at Le Mans, the works Gulf GT40 P/1075 is easily one of the most iconic race cars in history, and a short run of "toolroom copies", and tribute editions will be built.
Each replica will be shipped with a GT40 P/1000 chassis number, a plaque that contains the names of 25 employees that helped build the original, and a GT40-styled guitar, because why not?
Finished in the iconic Gulf livery and sporting the exact same wheels and flared body panels as the original, distinguishing one of these from an actual Ford GT40 race car isn't easy.
Customers will have their choice of what sits underneath the rear engine cover. Either a 5.0-litre (302ci) or a 7.0-litre (427ci) Roush-built Ford V8 engine can be chosen, and paired with a Quaife RFQ or ZF RBT transaxle.
"Only one person can own the original and that’s unlikely to come to market anytime soon, and will be way beyond the pocket of 99.9 per cent of enthusiasts if and when it does,” said Oliver Hulme of Le Mans Coupes. "Under the circumstances these limited-edition Superformance recreations have to be a serious consideration and amazing value for money."
As you'd expect, something like this doesn't come cheap, but there are two pricing levels, depending on what you plan to do with it. The standard, road-going car will start at $344,000, and the 1969-spec track-going "toolroom copy" will start at a hefty $520,000.
