Ford GT40 Mk.II '66
Ford GT40 efsanesi 1964 yılında üretimine baslandıgında Le Mans yarısları için tasarlanmıs bir modeldir.”GT” adı Grand Touring anlamına gelir ve “40” kodunu GT klasmanına girebilen araçların maksimum yüksekligi olan 40” (102cm) den gelmektedir. Mk Serisi olarak 4 ayrı modeli olan araçtan toplamda 105 adet üretilmistir. 24 saat Le Mans yarısını dört kez üst üste (1966-1969) kazanan spor otomobil. Uzun mesafe spor otomobil yarıslarını 1960-1965 arasında bes kez üst üste kazanan Ferrari'ye rakip olarak üretilmistir. Araçta Ferrari'nin 3.0 lt. ve 4.0 lt. hacimli motorlar kullanmasına karsılık büyük hacimli Ford V8 motorları (4.9 lt. ve 7 lt.) kullanılmıstır. Günümüzde aracın üretimi Shelby-American Inc. ve Superformance LLC. tarafından yapılmaktadır. 2018 yılında Ford GT40 Mk.II’66 modeli RM Sotheby’s tarafından 9.795.000$’a satılmıstır.
The Mk.II was rebuilt by Holman Moody in California to handle the 7.0-liter FE (427HP) engine from the Ford Galaxie, used in NASCAR at the time and modified for road course use. The car's chassis was similar to the British-built Mk.I chassis, but it and other parts of the car had to be redesigned and modified by Holman Moody to accommodate the larger and heavier 427 engine. A new Kar Kraft-built four-speed gearbox replaced the ZF five-speed used in the Mk.I. This car is sometimes called the Ford Mk.II.
In 1966, the three teams racing the Mk.II and all dominated Le Mans, taking European audiences by surprise and beating Ferrari to finish 1-2-3 in the standings. The Ford GT40 went on to win the race for the next three years.
For 1967, the Mk.II’s were upgraded to "B" spec; they had re-designed bodywork and twin Holley carburetors for an additional 15HP. A batch of improperly heat-treated input shafts in the transaxles sidelined virtually every Ford in the race at Daytona, however, and Ferrari won 1-2-3. The Mk.IIB’s were also used for Sebring and Le Mans that year and won the Reims 12 Hours in France. For the Daytona 24 Hours, two Mk II models had their engines re-badged as Mercury engines; Ford seeing a good opportunity to advertise that division of the company.
In 2018, a Mk II that was 3rd overall at the 1966 Le Mans 24 Hours was sold by RM Sotheby's for $9,795,000, that was the highest price achieved for a GT40 at auction.