Ford GT40
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The Ford GT40 is one of the only cars that’s ever been created out of spite. The story of how the Ford takeover of Ferrari fell through with Enzo Ferrari walking out during the signing of the contract over a detail that was thought to be worked out is one of the more epic stories in automotive history.
Ford wasn’t going to take this slight sitting down. Ford executives retreated to America and recognized that Ferrari was the greatest racing cars in the world. If Ferrari was going to reject Ford at the last second, they were going to take away everything Ferrari loved. Okay, looking back this is a bit spiteful and childish, but look at the cars that got developed because of it!
Racing Pedigree
The Ford GT40 was the very first Ford to win the 24 hours at Le Mans race. The Le Mans endurance race is the ultimate test of racing power, agility, and stamina. It takes multiple drivers and a huge staff just to enter, let alone challenge to win.
The GT40 was a joint creation intended to take down Ferrari. However, originally it struggled. It was unreliable and this cost a promising car a lot of trophies. That all changed after Carroll Shelby was given control of the racing program for 1965. He used that year to iron out all the issues in the car and have it ready for 1966. That was the first of four straight Le Mans 24 Hour victories. The GT40 dominated racing for those years and showed that the giant corporation with huge resources and pockets CAN eventually crush the small handcrafted business! Truly Heartwarming.
