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In the world of motorsport, the 24-Hours of Le Mans holds a special place, and in the 1960s, Ferrari's dominance seemed unshakable. However, Ford, determined to challenge the Italian automaker, embarked on a journey to build a car that would dethrone Ferrari. This led to the creation of the Ford GT40, equipped with the powerful 427 engine. So today I welcome you to join me, as we delve into the challenges faced by ford, the innovations they made, and how the GT40 with its formidable 427 engine ultimately achieved victory at Le Mans.
So lets start at the beginning, Building a Competitive Contender: Ford's racing program lacked experience in endurance racing, so they sought an existing chassis to begin their project. The Lola Mk 6 chassis became the foundation for the GT40, this chasis then got mated with a 4.7l Fairlane V8 engine which made its debut at the 1964 Nürburgring race. However, initial reliability issues plagued the car, and all three GT40s sent to Le Mans that year retired prematurely, allowing Ferrari to claim another victory.
But Ford didn’t give up, you see Following the disappointing results of the previous year, the legendary Carroll Shelby joined the team to lead the GT40 project. Together with driver Ken Miles and engineer Phil Remington, they set out to improve the GT40's performance. Their efforts paid off when the GT40 secured its first win at Daytona in February 1965, marking a turning point for the program.
But Ford didn’t give up, you see Following the disappointing results of the previous year, the legendary Carroll Shelby joined the team to lead the GT40 project. Together with driver Ken Miles and engineer Phil Remington, they set out to improve the GT40's performance. Their efforts paid off when the GT40 secured its first win at Daytona in February 1965, marking a turning point for the program.
And this is when the mighty 427 made its entrance: You see Meanwhile, back in Michigan, Roy Lunn and his team developed a new version of the GT40 equipped with the formidable and legendary 427 engine. This powerplant, based on the Gen II FE 427 block from Ford's NASCAR program, offered increased power and improved reliability. With a displacement of 425.98 ci (6.98 liters), Now the reason for the 427 was because of racing regulations, you see the rules in lemans back then limited engine to be smaller than 7 liters or smaller than 427 cubic inches, and the engine in the GT40 was a 425.98 CI engine or 6.9 liters. So the engine was pretty much as big as possible. As the Americans always say, “no replacement for displacement”
#427v8 #Ford #GT40