This article originally appeared in the June 1987 issue of Road & Track.

It may have been the most exciting race finish I've ever seen, probably because close finishes are rare at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Twenty-one hours into the event in 1969. The two leading Porsches—a 917 and a 908—retired, leav­ing the Jacky Ickx/Jackie Oliver Ford GT40 battling for the lead against the Hans Herrmann/Gerard Larrousse 908. All that dis­tance covered, roughly 2700 miles so far, and the two cars were swapping the lead at pit stops. An hour and a half before the finish, they made their final stops, Ickx taking over in the Ford and Herrmann in the Porsche. The last hour they were actually going at it wheel-to-wheel.

I was covering the race that year for ABC's Wide World of Sports and had the chance to watch from the TV booth on the front straight, where a small bank of monitors let us see the action on the rest of the track. Into the last lap and onto the Mulsanne straight, Ickx was in the lead. The Porsche seemed to have more top speed, but had to be more precisely driven than the "old" Ford. The pass would have to be perfectly timed, and Herrmann appeared to do it too soon. Ickx repassed the Porsche just before the high-speed kink at the end of the straight. Lead­ing through Mulsanne corner at the end of the straight meant Ickx had the advantage back to the start/finish line, but Herrmann hounded him every inch of the way to the checker, losing by only a few hundred feet. The GT40 traveled 3105.607 miles at an average of 129.400 mph, while the Porsche covered 3105.532 miles, averaging 129.397. Not bad after 24 hours. I must add that a race like that may be a dream for the spectators, but can be a nightmare for endurance drivers as it's often diffi­cult to pull all your skills out of the bag at the end of 24 hours.

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I was particularly delighted by this fourth consecutive win at Le Mans by Ford because I'd been a part of that program at its very beginning. After I won the race in 1962 in a Ferrari and later left the team, John Wyer asked me to drive the Aston Martin Project 215 at Le Mans in 1963. Wyer had something of a for­midable reputation, but I found him to be very good to work with. So when he asked if I'd like to drive the new Ford in 1964, I was happy to accept.

You have to appreciate that at that point I was willing to be a part of any major program aimed at beating Ferrari. Though I had always been loyal and very proud of my accomplishments for the Italian team, my departure hadn't been as pleasant as it might have been. And as it turned out, working for Wyer and Ford became a pleasant contrast to the awful Grand Prix season I was enduring with the Cooper team.

From the first 1964 test session at Goodwood—where, many years before, I had watched my first Grand Prix race—I was im­pressed with the professionalism of the Ford Advanced Vehicles team. The GT40s were based, of course, on Eric Broadley's Lola coupe, and he was part of the group in those early years. Fortu­nately, Ford appreciated that great race cars are developed and rarely born, because 1964 was a complete wipe-out as far as finishing goes. But there were some moments of glory. I man­aged to qualify second at the Nürburgring, and we put up a good show with three cars at Le Mans, though the carburetor man, who was supposed to be getting our cars' ailments sorted out, couldn't get into the pits because the good credentials had been given to corporate hangers-on. In the race, Bruce McLaren and I fought back from last place to third—I set a new lap record—be­fore the gearbox failed.

For 1965, Ford decided it needed the big-block 427-cubic-inch V-8, which had a better power-to-weight ratio than the 289 but made the cars heavier overall. The 427s, with Ford-developed four-speed gearboxes, replaced the small-block V-8s to create the GT40 Mk II. As Wyer points out, this was an odd decision be­cause the GT40s didn't lack power. The new drivetrain also set development back, and success was still slim with only one win, in the Daytona Continental.

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By 1966 I'd gone to Chaparral, and the Fords became success­ful, though I like to think the two facts are not related. GT40 Mk IIs were 1-2-3 at three major races, the Daytona 24 Hours, Sebring (third place was a normal GT40) and, at last, Le Mans. GT40s were also 2-3 in the 1000-km races at Monza and Spa. One of the few places the Fords couldn't hold their own was at the Nürburgring, which Jo Bonnier and I won with the Chaparral. After the 1966 season, Ford Advanced Vehicles was closed and GT40 development shifted to the U.S. At Ford's urging, Wyer established J.W. Automotive to provide spare parts and service for the existing GT40s in Europe, and to build addi­tional cars if needed.

The biggest drawback to the GT40 design, particularly the Mk IIs, was weight. With that came brake problems, and the Mk IIs for Le Mans were not only rigged for quick brake pad changes, but also for speedy changes of the discs themselves. The answer for 1967 was the J Car, which then became the Mk IV, still with the big-block drivetrain of the Mk IIs but significantly lighter. In addition, a number of customer cars were raced, helping to spread the car's fame. Gulf Oil also sponsored JW Automotive's Mirage Ml prototypes, heavily based on the GT40s. Three were built in early 1967.

Naturally the list of GT40 victories lengthened dramatically that year: first (Mk IV) and second (Mk II) at Sebring, first at Spa (Mirage), Reims (Mk II), Kyalami (Mirage) and, of course, Le Mans (Mk IV, with Dan Gurney and A. J. Foyt).

Ford got out of endurance racing at the end of 1967, to con­centrate on drag and stock-car racing, but didn't shut off the tap.

Dearborn asked J.W. Automotive to continue build­ing and racing GT40s, selling all the necessary equipment at "very good terms." It had always been Wyer's feeling that the original small-block GT40 design was the one that should have been developed. And it was in this direction he went with the aging Ford design. Now JWA received the small-block racing engine information and equipment—forged rods and crank­ shafts, for example—that Ford had been reluctant to release when it was running the 427s.

This was, however, only a backup plan. Gulf Oil again backed the JWA team and was willing to build an entirely new car. The rules for international sports car racing in 1968 allowed proto­types with 3-liter engines versus homologated GTs with 5-liter powerplants, eliminating the Mirage prototypes. Wyer figured Porsche, Ferrari and Alfa Romeo as the potential rivals, as was Ford of England with Len Bailey's F3L. All these had 3-liter racing engines and Wyer also assumed this would be the successful direction with the new formula. He set Len Terry to work on the Gulf Mirage M2, which would have a BRM V-12. The Mirage took some time to develop, and then both the car and the engine were disappointing, so J.W. Automotive put the (homologated) GT40s back to work.

These GT40Ps, as they were known, were surprisingly little changed from the original Fords I drove in 1964-1965. The 95.0-in. wheelbase was identical, as were the 70.0-in. width and 40.5-in. height (the car originally got its designation from being 40.0-in. tall). Length was up 3.0 in. to 168.0, and the track was 57.5-in. front and 58.5-in. rear. These dimensions are similar to today's Porsche 944—except for the height!

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The basic structure was an almost-monocoque stiffened by square tube structure and the small steel roof section that re­mained after deep inward cuts were made for the door tops. The front suspension was a rather classic-looking upper and lower A- arm design. At the back were two pairs of long trailing arms mounted in the bulkhead behind the passenger compartment and running back to a single upper link and a lower wishbone. Coil spring/tube shock units and anti-roll bars were used at both ends. Steering was by rack and pinion.

The very first engine/transmission combination in the GT40 was the overhead-valve 4.2-liter, 350-bhp aluminum-block "Indy" V-8 with a Colotti nonsynchro four-speed transaxle. These alloy blocks were replaced by the 4.7-liter, 340-bhp cast iron "production" versions and the Colotti by a strong ZF five-speed gearbox. After the Mk II/Mk IV big-block interlude, the JW GT40s got the 5.0-liter (302-cubic-inch) small-block with Gurney-Weslake aluminum heads: the output was about 412 bhp at 6000 rpm in 1968 and 425 the following year, with 396 lb-ft of torque at 4750. The engine's dry-sump oiling system had been improved, as had the transaxle's lubrication system. The ZF remained, along with the Borg & Beck three-plate clutch. JWA upped the brake size to 12-inch ventilated-disc Girlings, which were about the largest that could be fitted inside the 15-inch alloy wheels. With the wider tires the bodywork was bulged a bit to fit around them.

Some of the fiberglass body panels on the Gulf cars had what was then very exotic carbon-fiber reinforcing. The GT40s were always such pretty cars, except for a few months in 1964 when the smooth shape had holes cut into it to solve cooling prob­lems, and spoilers were added here and there to keep the car firmly on the track. When you consider the volumes of informa­tion being learned about race-car aerodynamics in the Sixties, it's impressive how the basic form of the cars held up from 1964 to 1969. The last cars weighed about a ton dry, and just under 2500 pounds on the line.

Little was done to change the interior of the GT40 after 1964. On the 1969 car, there are a few more gauges on the flat instrument panel ahead of the driver. The ventilated seats, which were supposed to have air blown through them, had been discarded long ago, though the cooling holes remain. You climb in over the wide sills that contain the fuel cells and drop into the high-sided seats. The shift lever is to the right, a pull-on handbrake just under the dash. All understandably businesslike, as you'd expect from John Wyer.

Although most of the GT40s were built at Ford Advanced Vehicles in England, additional cars were also made at Alan Mann Racing and J.W. Automotive. A total of seven GT40s were built to JWA's Gulf specifications, along with an an­cient GT40 (number 1004) that was rebuilt in the newer con­figuration. Three new machines became the Gulf team cars for 1968-1969. including this month's Salon car, 1075, which is the most famous of all the racing GT40s.

Even John Wyer will tell you he doesn't know what makes one race car a winner compared with its identical stablemates. It didn't hurt, of course, that 1075 was a favorite of Jacky Ickx and was looked after by one of the few mechanics to become a minor legend, Ermanno Cuoghi.

The 1968 season didn't begin well for any of the Gulf GT40s at Daytona and Sebring, as old cars were being used while the new trio was being built. But then Ickx and Brian Redman beat a field of Porsche 907s at Brands Hatch in 1075. and David Hobbs and Paul Hawkins won at Monza in 1074. Ickx and Haw­kins teamed up for a third at the Nürburgring in 1075, with Hobbs/Redman in sixth. Ickx and 1075 won again at Spa (with Redman) and at Watkins Glen (with Lucian Bianchi). When Ickx and Redman were injured (separately) in Grand Prix races, 1075 was entered at Le Mans for Bianchi and Pedro Rodriguez; they finished seven laps ahead of the second-place Porsche 907.

No one, not even Wyer, thought it could happen again in 1969. The 3-liter race engines had another year of development, but more importantly Porsche introduced the 917, soon to be a world-beater. Development of the 3-liter BRM-powered Mirage M2 and M3 was coming along very slowly. Wyer had no choice but to go with the still more aged-but-experienced GT40s. Ickx and 1075 retired at Daytona, but won at Sebring.

Then came Le Mans, where Wyer figured, "We didn't have much hope of winning," perhaps finishing in the top six. But Ickx and Oliver proved that 1075 still had it, the veteran car being driven as hard as possible in that last hour of the duel with Herrmann. To add to the GT40's glory, 1076 finished third with Hobbs and Mike Hailwood. After winning in 1969, 1075 was driven back to the team's headquarters in La Chatre by Cuoghi, with another team member dozing in the passenger's seat. What a wonderful way for a race car to go into retirement.

Cars 1074 and 1076 were sold to private owners, but Gulf kept 1075, had it restored by JWA, and put it on exhibit in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway museum.

This very special GT40 was recently bought by Harley Cluxton's Grand Touring Cars in Scottsdale, Arizona. When they got the car, only the fuel cells needed to be replaced. Then, after being given a good general once-over to make certain it was still fit, 1075 was fired up.

It ran perfectly. I can personally vouch for this, and so can John Wyer. With a GT40's wheel in my hands for the first time in 20 years, I experienced the thrill of 170-plus mph.

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