LE MANS miniatures Ford GT40 Le Mans 1964

Choose a version :

• Ford GT 40 N°11 : RICHIES GHINTHER & MASTEN GREGORY
  24 Heures du Mans 1964
• Ford GT 40 N°12 : JO SCHLESSER & RICHARD ATTWOOD
  24 Heures du Mans 1964

Specifications :

• Carrosserie : polyurethan resin
• Turned metal rims
• PE spoke wheels
• Weight : 100 g
• Powered by Slot.it : Axles, Braids, Crown, Engine, Pick-up, Motor-mount, Pinions, Chassis plate

The Ford GT 40 received its name because the height of the roof is 40 inches. The design started under the management of John Wyer, forming racing manager for Aston Martin, and Eric Broadley, who owned and ran Lola cars. Work was begun in Broadley's Lola workshop.

When Ford arrived in Le Mans in June 1964, their ambitions are not very high: gain information and experience for the next participation; and with the hope of adding a little worry for Ferrari, who was the favourite of the race.

The ambition to worry Ferrari was successful during the first hour racing as the GT 40 car number 11 of Richie Ginther and Masten Gregory took the lead, followed by the Ferrari 330P, number 19, of Bandini and Surtees and in the fifth position Ferrari car number 20.  It held this position until the first refuelling at the end of the first hour, then ran in second place for 3 hours before being forced to the back of the grid then finally out of the race when the Colotti gearbox failed.

Meanwhile, the Ford car number 10 driven by Phil Hill and Bruce MacLaren had to stop 5 times during the first hour of racing which relegated it to the 44th position.  When the problem with the carburetor was solved, they were able to progress and reached the 6th position after 8 hours racing, and then to the 4th place before retiring during the 13th hour when their gearbox also failed.  However, before the car's failure, Phil Hill set a new speed record of 3'49''2 against 3'53''3 by the Ferrari of Surtees in 1963.  And for the first time in LeMans history, the speed of 3000km/h was exceeded on the Hunaudières. Car number 12 escaped the gearbox problems of its teammates but was taken out of the race during the fifth hour by a fire in the cockpit when a radiator hose melted under the heat.

For Ford to develop the GT 40 to its full potential, they had to wait for the delivery of new ZF gearboxes and an engine capable to enduring a 24 hour race.