Vehicle Description
When you look at this incredibly special, professionally built
Superformance 1966 Ford GT40 MKII replica, you should get a
visceral feeling of excitement simply from what it represents. A
direct tribute to the #2 car driven by Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon
that won the 1966 24-Hours of Le Mans race - the first Le Mans ever
won by the Ford GT40 - it's the next best thing to the original
Ferrari-eating machine. Superformance is arguably the best replica
car manufacturer today, producing industry-leading, factory-built
models ranging from their uber-successful Shelby AC Cobra
recreations to the Daytona Corvette (and many other models in
between), but the GT40 is undoubtedly their flagship. Beautifully
presented and built to a very high standard, this GT40
recreation/continuation has been babied since it was finished, and
with a beefed-up 427 FE side-oiler, a quick-shifting 5-speed
gearbox, and a bespoke monocoque chassis and racing suspension
underneath, it's got the serious hardware to back up those
legendary looks. A street-legal version of one of the most iconic
race cars ever to touch the track, where do I sign up?
If you're going to pay homage to a particular racing year, 1966 is
a great choice, especially if you're building a GT40 recreation.
Ford's rivalry with Ferrari (and subsequently Porsche) at Le Mans
has been heavily documented, with Ford's dominance beginning in
1966. The GT40 swept the podium 1-2-3, but for those that remember
it was essentially a three-way tie contrived by Ford after
witnessing three GT40s MKII's dominating the race at the end. Due
to Le Mans race rules that prevented dead heats (and Ford's
insistence that the Ken Miles-driven GT40 slow down and allow the
#2 to pass at the last moment), the McLaren/Amon black #2 car was
crowned the 1st place finisher, spoiling Miles' chance at the
racing Triple Crown. Nevertheless, that's nothing more than a good
party story now - what's important is that the GT40 started its
four-year dominance at Le Mans with this particular car. Hence the
reason for this recreation's popularity, and why many people view
it as the ultimate GT40 replica car to own. Superformance went to
great lengths developing this replica, ensuring authenticity to
such a degree that the company can legally use the name "GT40" and
offer a GT40/P chassis number that makes these vehicles eligible
for the official GT40 registry. Again, this is as close to the
genuine article as you'll ever find, with 2/3 of the rolling
chassis interchangeable with the that of the original. Having an
extremely faithful build means the dimensions are exact, the
pressed steel roof and finished body is in excellent shape, and the
glossy black finish was laid down to a high-standard, complete with
all the proper decals in place. It sits right, looks right, and
sounds right, and greatly benefits from conscientious care since
the day it was completed.
The interior does a pretty good impersonation of the original, too,
right down to the lightweight leather buckets adorned with silver
rivets. The doors still open into the roof, making it easy to climb
up and over the incredibly wide sills, and you strap in with
Williams five-point harnesses. Once you're behind the Motolita
steering wheel, you'll find a creature comforts that make staying
there easy: German leather seats, a tilt steering column, cold
air-conditioning, and a full array of Smiths gauges that keep ana
eye on the monster within. A tilt column certainly helps with
ergonomics and the gauges are laid out very much like the original,
with the tach front and center and the speedo way over there on the
right. The transmission is a ZF 5-speed, and it clangs inside a
custom center console, which is a rare find in a race-ready car
like this. GT40 logos on the floormats and horn ring announces the
pedigree, and the glove box has been autographed by three racing
legends - David Hobbs, Dan Gurney, and Lee Holman.
The custom chassis (made from ZE 50/50 zinc-coated mildsteel)
houses a thumping 427FE side-oiler V8 that was built, balanced, and
blueprinted to 484 cubic inches by Bill Parham of Southern
Automotive. Only gently used (well, as gentle as one can be with
this kind of power at their fingertips) since the build was
completed (the odometer reads 1748 miles, and those are likely
since built), the engine bay is just as beautiful as the rest of
the car. The laundry list of drivetrain upgrades is lengthy, so
call us for the full scoop, but some of the highlights include
CNC'd aluminum heads, a Crane 'Gold Race' rocker arm assembly, twin
Holley 4-barrels atop a 427 tunnel-wedge intake manifolds, and
ceramic-coated 'bundle of snakes' headers that feed into an exhaust
system that sounds downright erotic. With huge horsepower and
torque on tap, the featherweight Ford is ferociously fast, and the
ZF 5-speed gearbox is the perfect dance partner to handle all that
immense power. The undercarriage is super-clean and dialed-in with
a host suspension upgrades, highlighted by the independent set-ups
front and rear. Wilwood 4-wheel disc brakes provide
retina-detaching stopping power that doesn't fade on the track and
with rack-and-pinion steering, Bilstein shocks, and twin fuel
tanks, the monocoque chassis is remarkably well-balanced. Halibrand
knock-off wheels are the perfect endcaps to this race-ready
smoke-show, wrapped in grippy 215/60/15 Avon radials with plenty of
tread left.
Historically significant and an absolute blast to drive, this
fantastic recreation is a great way to own and drive an absolute
legend. It delivers 95% of the original experience for a mere
fractions of the original's price tag. How is that not a win? Call
today!
