RM Auctions will offer two rare Ford GT40 sports cars at its Monterey, Calif., sale on Aug. 17 and 18. Both cars for sale represent a high point in Ford’s motorsport history – the first racing car, built in 1968 for the J.W.A./Gulf team, and the second car built in 1967 is one of just 31 produced GT40 road cars with the lowest mileage.
Iconic GT40 is the first American-built racing car to take victory at La Sarthe, and it scored consecutive victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 1966 through 1969. Only 133 of all variations of the original factory GT40 were built before production ceased in 1969, which makes this cars more rarely.
The first car to be offered at RM Auctions is the 1968 Ford GT40 Gulf/Mirage Lightweight racing car with chassis number 1074. The first by serial number, of several lightweight GT40s built for the J.W.A./Gulf team, this car raced extensively throughout 1968 from Daytona to Le Mans, as well as the Le Mans trials at the hands of Jacky Ickx. Finished in the Gulf team colors of Powder Blue with a Marigold stripe, the car was sold to Solar Productions in 1970 and served as a camera car for Steve McQueen’s seminal 1971 racing film Le Mans. Bought by its current owner in year 2000, the car has underwent a meticulously fine restoration before it was displayed at the 2003 Goodwood Festival of Speed, where it was driven by racin icon Jackie Oliver.
The second car for sale represents an authentic example of the first generation GT40 Mk I. This 1967 Ford GT40 Mk I, chassis number 1059, is one of just 31 production GT40 road cars. It was re-sprayed in stunning colors of pearlescent white with beautiful blue stripes to be shipped in US in December 1966, for the Mk I Promotion and Dispersal Program. This car was one of 20 vehicles selected for this event and one of only 6 motor cars consigned to Shelby American for the promotional use by their field managers. More than 20 years, the car belonged to its first private owner – Dr. Jack Frost, an vintage car collector. In 2002, he sold the car to its current owner. In October 2011 during inspection by GT40 authority Ronnie Spain, the car reportedly had traveled 4,749 miles from new, making it “without a doubt one of, if not the lowest mileage GT40s in the world today.” It is estimated to fetch $2,300,000–$2,700,000. [RM Auctions]
