Gooding will auction a legendary prototype 1964 GT40 racecar at Pebble Beach next month.
Shelby American brought two GT40 prototypes and four Cobra Daytona coupes to Florida in 1965 for the Daytona Continental. Team manager Don Allen and Ford GT40 project engineer, Carroll Smith, fielded the team and brought home first and third place gold with the two GT40s. It was the first-ever completed race and win for a GT40. GT/104, above, photo by Mathieu Heurtault, finished third, below, in the hands of Bob Bondurant and Richie Ginther.
Introduced in 1964, Ford’s groundbreaking GT40 went on to dominate international motorsports for the remainder of the decade. Initially entered in the 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans, GT/104 joined two other experimental team cars in Ford’s first official outing at Le Mans. Though it failed to finish the 24-hour race, it played a critical role in helping Ford beat Ferrari. As development continued and production ensued, GT/104 continued to be an integral part of Ford’s racing effort.
Retired later that year, GT/104 returned to Ford where it was used by the styling department as a show car. It remains among the finest and most historically significant examples of Ford’s legendary sports racer. In preparation for the Pebble Beach auctions, the GT/104 was recently restored to its Shelby American livery.
For more information about vehicles in the Gooding Pebble Beach auction, please visit
http://www.sportscardigest.com/major-consignments-for-gooding-pebble-beach-2012/
http://www.goodingco.com/
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