Blue 1968 Ford GT40 Le Mans Gulf Oil Muscle Car 1920×1080 HD
Posted by admin at 6 May 2014, at 12 : 10 PM
Car of the day – Blue 1968 Ford GT40 Le Mans Gulf Oil Muscle Car 1920×1080 HD
Yesterday, we started the introduction of the Ford GT40 with a 1966 Ford GT40 model. Today, we’re going to continue (and finish) our introduction with a new image of 1968 Ford GT40 model.
The 24 hours of LeMans race in 1966 was dominated by the 7.0L Mk 2 with a 1-2-3 finish. This debut of the GT’s dominance was covered in controversy. In the final few hours of the race, the Ford GT of Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon trailed the Ford GT of Ken Miles. The Ford team faced a decision, whether or not to let the drivers race each other and end up crashing, or to let one of the cars win on purpose. They decided to let the drivers drive side by side and cross the finish line as a tie. But, not long before the finished the organizers of the LeMans event informed Ford that geographical positions would be taken into account at a close finish, which would mean the McLaren and Amon driven vehicle, that had started 60 feet behind Ken Miles’ car, would win the tie because it slightly covered more ground. Ford ended up sticking to the two cars crossing the finish line at the same time, but when Ken Miles learned of this, he slowed down right before the finish and let Bruce McLaren’s car win. Miles died later that year in a testing accident.
The Mk 3 was a road-car only, and only 7 were built. The car had four headlights, and the rear part of the body was expanded to make room for luggage. It had a 4.6 L engine that was detuned to 335 bhp and the shocks were softened, and the car was available with the steering wheel on the left side of the car. The most famous Mk 3 is GT40 1105, a blue left hand drive model delivered in 1968 in Austria to Herbert Von Karajan. The Mk 3 turned out not to be aesthetically as pleasing as the earlier ones, so many customers interested in buying a GT40 for road use chose to buy a Mk 1 that was available from Wyer Ltd.
In an effort to develop a car with better aerodynamics, stability, and lighter weight, it was decided to retain the 7 liter engine, and redesign the rest of the car. In order to make the car more American and lessening partnership with English firms, Ford Advanced Vehicles was sold to John Wyer and the new car was designed by Ford’s studios and produced by Ford’s subsidiary Kar Kraft. There was also a partnership with Brunswick Aircraft Corporation for the use of honeycomb panels bonded together to form a lightweight tub. The car would make use of the new and more liberal Appendix J regulations for race car construction, and was therefore known as the J-car.
Price of original Ford GT’s has increased, and availability has decreased, so many replicas and imitations have been sold over the years. Some are just cheap, poorly built imitations, while others are exact continuations, with the performance of the original.