WHEN FORD MOTOR COMPANY WENT TO LEMANS

It’s the 60’s love is free, fortunate son is written, and Ford is pissed. Picture this, it’s 1961, and Ferrari has officially run out of money. Thanks to mounting F1 costs and less profit than expected on Road cars Ferrari is forced to sell out! Luckily, there’s one very interested party. Ford! Ford, wanting to bring more quality and value to its name was looking to invest in racing for the development of its road cars. And what better way to do it than Ferrari! So they bought Ferrari and lived happily ever after😊 ERRRT NOPE! Right as the deal was about to be signed an infuriated Enzo Ferrari stormed the room. Apparently not being told his race team was part of the deal. And once signed couldn’t take part in the illustrious Indy 500 (as he wanted to retain ownership of his team) Enzo screamed MY CARS WILL NEVER BE MADE BY FORD AUTOMAKERS! And just like that, the deal was off. Now, when word of this got back to one Henry ford the second (or the deuce) he was pihhhist He immediately called upon fords best engineers and handed them a blank check with one statement. Go to Lemans. Beat Ferrari. So just like that, they got to work. First up, the car. After undergoing rigorous negotiations with Lotus, and Cooper cars Ford went with Lola’s proposal on the chassis. As Lola was already running Ford engines in their Prototype chassis, this seemed to be both the nose natural, and best fit. Assigning Harley Copp as the chassis manager production of the Ford GT Mark I was underway. And on March 13 of that very year Teams began taking delivery of their Ford monsters, for only £5,200. Powered by the same screaming 4.7 liter engine that would win lotus the 500 a few years later this baby was ready to hit the track and kick some ass! Until it wasn’t... As a matter of fact, they didn’t as much as cross the finish line once the entire 1964 season... Which meant it was time for a change. (Kid me) What change? CARROLL. FREAKEN SHELBY! God father of the Shelby Cobra, Daytona, and Mustang. The man. The myth. The legend. The Texan Chicken Farmer. They changed e-va-rye-thing Ford was in such a rush, that they shipped the cars straight to Texas without even cleaning them. And with that, Shelby got to work. Which immediately panned out, with the Shelby modded gt winning at its first attempt at Daytona. However, the rest of the season didn’t go that well. But never the less, it was a hell of a step in the right direction. And on that fateful day in 1966. Henry Ford II’s dreams came true/were realized. In the form on one of the greatest conquests in all of motorsports. Against all odds, the GT took the lead straight off, and never looked back. And when the clock struck 24. There were 3 fords on the podium, and all of the Ferrari s had suffered ejgine failures. Although the victory wasn’t perfect for everyone. As the lead car driven by Ken Miles, and Denny Hulme, and the 2nd place car of Bruce McLaren, and Chris Amon were asked to slow down as to allow car 3 to catch up for a photo op. In the event of which the 2nd place car over took the first right in front of the start finish line. But none of that mattered. Henry’s dream was realized! So thats all fine and good. Time to go home right? WRONG AGAIN. In order to once and for all prove that the victory was no fluke, AND IN ATTEMPT TO FURTHER THE WOUND TO FERRARI ford put together a team of all American drivers. In hopes that they would clinch the victory. Ford was on a mission to repeat the W. Over in Italy however, Ferrari had other plans. Plans, that came in the form of the P4! All new, all perfect, All Italian. And all ready to return the throne to the men in red. But, there was a storm a brewing in Texas as well. In the form of the lightning quick Ford MK IV. Which, was also, completely redesigned. It was wind tunnel tested. And when the dust settled, Ford reigned supreme. With the one remaining GT40 reaping the fruits of victory. AND to put the icing on the cake, the all American team was the one to do it. And so, once and for all proving that Americans had what it took to compete, and win at even the the greatest cathedrals of motorsports. As always, thanks for watching, hope ya liked the video! If ya did, be sure to smash that like button or subscribe!

Added 4 Apr 2026