eBay Listing: 1973 Ford GT40 Original Chassis #P1108 P70 MK1
Carroll Shelby. His name is tied into so many great cars; he changed the world as we once knew it. Carroll Shelby has many greats, The Cobra, The Daytona Coupe, The Mustang GT350, GT500. And of course the GT40. He even crossed into Mopar and was involved in the development of the Dodge/SRT Viper.
In many respects Shelby was a visionary. He chose, with Fords backing, to challenge the best Europe had to offer in the 1960s and with the help of his drivers, designers, engineers, they won. They beat Ferrari using a GT40. A feat that was, is, and forever will be a huge accomplishment; they stuck it to Mr. Enzo, on his own turf. That’s something to be proud of as an American, but more so as a car enthusiast.
A GT40 is Ferrari beating machine in our book. At the time the Ford GT40 was originally built, its competition at Ferrari was employing highly strung engines that were great at producing power, but temperamental in terms of endurance. Whereas, the Ford GT40 utilized a Ford V8 renowned for producing tons of power, but at lower RPMs – a basic engineering principle which results in less stress on the motors, and better reliability.
The generation of Ford GT sports cars built from 2005-2006 was built as a street car to emulate a racing car. Today’s eBay find was built more as a racing car on top of an original 1963 MK1 spare chassis by David Piper, a British former Formula One and sports car racing driver from England, and was barely transformed into a street vehicle by adding carpets and an ashtray. We can only imagine that it must be a visceral experience to take the helm of this beast of American and European ingenuity.
Some people are legendary like Mr. Shelby, some people make legends out of what they build. The GT40 has the history, the looks, the power, and the prestige of being in a word, “excellent.” It is a car to be proud of and for a distinguished owner, one who appreciates the classics and who knows that it beat Ferrari from 1966-1969. It also doesn’t hurt that just 107 original examples of the GT40 were produced making this exotic truly a rare find.
Bid now before the auction listing closes on Sunday, Apr 27, 2014: 1973 Ford GT40 Original Chassis #P1108 P70 MK1
