Mark III – Pulpaddict

Showcasing original technical drawings, cutaways and period photos, GT40 UNCOVERED! treats readers to a unique look at the engineering story of Ford’s multiple Le Mans winners: GT40, Mark II and Mark IV.

GT40 UNCOVERED is more than simply a book. It’s a lavish production of a condensed research library, giving the reader rare access to the evolution of Ford’s iconic Le Mans-winning GT racecar via an almost endless cache of archival blueprints, drawings and photos. There are more than 250 original technical drawings, plus illustrations, graphics supporting period photos. Coverage also includes the Mark I and Mark III GT40 road cars. Calling GT40 UNCOVERED! “a book” is akin to labeling Ferrari’s 250 GTO, “a car.”

From birth as Roy Lunn’s Lola MK6-influenced Ford GT to the retired Le Mans winning Mark IV, this museum-quality book not only covers the interior and exterior details of each car line, but chapters are devoted to Concept, Chassis, Engines & Transmissions (transaxles) as well as Suspension, Brakes & Steering. The engine chapter covers the 255 Indy, 289 race and road, small-block Gurney Weslake and the 427 that powered the 1966 and 1967 Le Mans-winning Mark IIs. Plus, stunning cutaways of Claude Nahum’s GT/101 R, and GT40 P/1078 and Mark II P/1016.

To better understand the quality presentation of this book – a 176-page, cloth-covered hardback measuring 16.5 x 16.5 inches – one only has to look at the resumes of its author and co-author, Claude Nahum and Steve Rendle, respectively. Nahum raced while he was going to engineering college and in 2002 bought his first GT40 and competed in historic racing. Since then, he has owned a second GT40 and has commissioned two concours-quality recreations. He owns a treasure-trove of original GT40 drawings, but is probably best known for his GT/101 R, a superb recreation of the long-gone first Ford GT prototype, above, currently on display at the museum at Le Mans.

One of the high points Nahum experienced while working on this book was taking legendary Ford racing engine builder Mose Nowland for a ride in GT/101 R at Goodwood, above. Nowland was involved in the building of 427 Le Mans engines at Ford Engineering and was the recipient of the Spirit of Ford award in 2005 for 57 years as a Senior Motorsports Engineer. Co-Author Rendle is a passionate motorsports enthusiast, technical writer, editor, author, and publishing project manager.

Considering its size, price ($420 to $600) and quality, exactly who was this oversize, highly technical tome actually written for? Certainly, not the enthusiast looking to add another coffee table book to his collection. However, if you own a real Ford GT, GT40, Mark II, are considering buying, or in the process, of restoring one, or constructing a replica, it was written for you. Racing historians, research libraries, and racecar museum curators should own copies.

As an automotive journalist, author, editor of Hi-Performance CARS magazine in the 1960s-1970s, who road tested the prototype GT40 Mark III in 1967, was longtime friend of the late GT40 Godfather, Roy Lunn, left, and owner of a 2006 Ford GT, I highly recommend this impressive tome.

Because of the limited number produced (365 copies), I suggest ordering now or be prepared to pay a lot more when copies pop-up on the secondary market. For more information about GT40 UNCOVERED! ordering details, pricing and its publisher, please visit, https://porterpress.co.uk/products/ford-gt40-book

You may think that you know everything about GT40s, but this just-published book – FORD GT40 ANTHOLOGY – is true to its sub-title, ‘A unique compilation of stories about these most iconic cars.’

Since Hollywood took incredible liberties entertaining us with its blockbuster version of Ford beating Ferrari at Le Mans in 1966 – FORD v FERRARI – there has been a renewed interest in the Ford GT40 and the company’s program which created cars that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for four straight years. There’s no shortage of GT40-related books – published both before and after the film broke cover. Some focus on engine and car specifications and chassis numbers, others on race records, driver profiles, etc. Pretty dry reading unless you’re restoring a car, own one, or want to impress someone at a cocktail party by rattling off numbers and who won what!

But, FORD GT40 ANTHOLOGY, A unique compilation of stories about these most iconic cars is different. And, what makes it different, also makes it worth buying, even at $90. Publisher Veloce is no stranger to books on this subject, having offered a trio of related titles in their portfolio that were published before this tome. It provides insights to the GT40’s design and racing achievements, starting with the first-built GTs, below, and some well-kept secrets about its development and financial aspects.

Authors John Allen and Graham Endeacott, both Brits, have immersed themselves for years in everything Ford GT/GT40. Allen is a published author and photographer; Endeacott has owned a replica GT40 since the mid-1990s. Allen also co-authored THE FORD THAT BEAT FERRARI, A Racing History of the GT40 with Gordon Jones in 2019. When it comes to Ford GT/GT40 history, these guys are experts.

GT40 ANTHOLOGY, is highly recommended for serious GT40 nerds who never seem to get enough words and photos about their favorite marque, as well as “newbies” who discovered GT40s watching FORD v FERRARI. That goes for me as well, a veteran enthusiast automotive journalist and magazine editor. What I truly appreciate is the way Allen and Endeacott handled the ever-popular conspiracy theory about Ken Miles being robbed, by Ford, of what could have been his win at Le Mans in 1966, when three Ford Mark IIs crossed the line for an unprecedented 1-2-3 victory. They devote 9 pages, a complete chapter (13) titled DEAD HEAT, to debunking that myth that surfaces every time a new book or film on the subject surfaces.

“… it was claimed by some that when the planned dead heat was announced, somebody from Ford (recollections vary as to who it was) had – allegedly – been sent to ACO to try and get a lap taken off Miles’ car, thus ensuring a win for McLaren and Amon. There’s no evidence in the ACO’s IBM timing records for P/1015 to suggest that any such lap had been removed, and it is difficult to see how it could have been done.”

They finish off the chapter with, “Whatever one’s view of the subject, the fact is that P/1046 and its drivers won according to the race rules, rules that applied to everybody, and nothing what so ever can, or should attempt to, take that victory from them. So … the congratulations rightly went to Bruce McLaren, Chris Amon and GT40P/1046 for winning the 34^th Grand Prix d’Endurance -les 24 Heures du Mans!”

During the development of the Ford GT and subsequent GT40 and Mark II, even later when the Mark II was replaced by the Mark IV, Ford’s Roy Lunn who headed up the Le Mans program, was enamored with Ford’s Indy engines. First it was the 1963 aluminum small-block used in Ford’s first Indy car; later with the sophisticated purpose-built four-cam race engine that replaced it in 1964 and went on to dominate Indy 500 racing. The first GTs were powered by the single-cam, two-valve Fairlane based Indy engine, later replaced with 289s.

Ford’s Engine and Foundry Division supplied Lunn with a total of 10 Indy engines, 5 of each version. The authors do a great job of following the applications and use of the engines, supported by photos of the four-cam motor in Bill Wonder’s GT/103, above. Wonder had actually installed it himself. The injected Gen II Indy motor was also considered for use in a modified sports car built around the Mark IV platform. While the Mark IV chassis # J-9 was being built by Lunn’s team at Kar-Kraft, below, it was fitted with one of the four-cam motors. There’s a great photo of that chassis with Indy engine installed, a photo that I’ve never seen before.

GT40 ANTHOLOGY is packed with interesting chapters tracking the history of important cars and their owners, a broad selection of examples of GT40 road and racecar advertising, and the most coverage I’ve yet seen on Safir Engineering, its owner Peter Thorp and the company’s Mark V continuation GT40s. And, how they ended up with rights to “GT40” and Ford not using it for its 2005-2006 modern variant of the GT40. As a genuine GT40 “nerd” and the owner of an ’06 Ford GT, I found the final chapter (32, MARK V) of great personal interest.

I already own just about every book written on the Ford GT/GT40, Mark II & Mark IV road and racecars, and if Allen and Endeacott decide to write another, it will end up in my library! Be aware, FORD GT40 ANTHOLOGY, A unique compilation of stories about these most iconic cars, is a true coffee table book, not the kind you take along to read on an airplane flight. It measures 12 x10.5 inches, is packed with around 500 photos over 320 pages and weighs approximately 5 pounds. It’s a heavyweight read, highly recommended; well worth the $90 tariff.

Check out FORD GT40 ANTHOLOGY, A unique compilation of stories about these most iconic cars @ https://www.amazon.com/Ford-GT40-Anthology-John-Allen/dp/1787115763/ref=asc_df_1787115763/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=475741797303&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=664353068492404021&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9012304&hvtargid=pla-1126985586389&psc=1

https://www.veloce.co.uk/store/Ford-GT40-Anthology-p303032784