Car of the Week: This 1966 Ford GT40 Road Car Was the First Delivered to the Public. Now It’s up for Grabs.

The history of Ford’s GT40 has spawned countless books, legends, and even the 2019 film Ford v Ferrari, which mixed fact and fantasy to tell a (somewhat) credible story. And while the characters behind the GT40 are well known, such as Carroll Shelby and Ken Miles, less so are the cars themselves, whose official production spanned a mere six years, from 1964 through 1969, and amounted to only about 105 examples.

The GT40 was built to take Ford to the track; specifically endurance racing at places like the Nürburgring, Daytona, and famously, Le Mans, which saw four consecutive Ford victories from 1966 through 1969. An abbreviated family tree shows four main model variants designated Mk I to Mk IV. All were powered by a mid-mounted Ford V-8 engine with a four- or five-speed transmission hung out back. Engine displacement in cubic inches included 255, 289, and 302 small-blocks, and a big-block 427, the latter in the Mk II and Mk IV cars.

As a motorsport competitor, the GT40 was constantly being improved upon to achieve better performance, reliability, and results, and to keep pace with often mercurial race-series rules and regulations that eventually banned the 7.0-liter cars altogether.

While most GT40s were pure race cars, 31 of the Mk I version—and all seven of the Mk III—were built in road trim. A very special example comes to the Mecum Auctions sale at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Fla., on January 18. Serial No. P/1034 was completed at the factory in Slough, England, in late 1965. Delivered on March 1, 1966, it was the first production road-car example of the GT40 sold to a private owner, James Fielding of Gloucester, and Ford UK’s then-ambassador, Jackie Stewart, handed over the keys.

Fundamentally still racers, the road cars did offer such “amenities” as carpeting, non-perforated leather seats, and leather door pouches. Such features as “FORD” lettering on the nose and snazzy chrome Borrani knockoff wire wheels also helped distinguish the street machines from their track siblings. In addition, P/1034—painted Pine Green—was built with options like a heated windshield, reverse lights, fender mirrors, dual fuel gauges, a clock, and mufflers.

After about a half decade, Fielding sold his GT40 to neighbor Paul Weldon, who piloted the car in vintage races throughout England in the early 1970s. Subsequent owners included Harley Cluxton of Arizona and Rob Walton of Arkansas. P/1034 later went to Australia, came to California in 2012, and subsequently went back to Europe, where it was acquired by the current owner from D.K. Engineering in 2021.

Long before GT40s became multimillion-dollar trophies, they were subjected to the vagaries of use, mechanical failure, accidents, and more. So, it is surprising to find examples with many of their original components. P/1034 was subject to a full restoration to its original specifications, and notably retains all of its original body panels, which accompanied the car as spares and were refitted in 2019.

Importantly, the (monocoque chassis) tub is original, as is the rare ZF 5DS-25 five-speed transaxle. The engine, while not original, is a correct 289-cubic-inch Ford HiPo (K-Code) V-8 with a quartet of fat Weber 48IDA carburetors atop the manifold. Built by Mathwall Engineering, the power plant has been dyno tested to deliver 335 hp.

The car’s future owner will be pleased to know that it’s being sold with an additional engine, dated January 1966, which has accompanied the car since it was new. When it comes to Ford’s GT40, there aren’t too many data points to establish value. Yet values have seen a substantial increase in the past couple of years, with examples in good condition hovering at $5.5 million while concours-quality examples can fetch well over $7.5 million.

Click here for more photos of this 1966 Ford GT40 Mk I road car.