Page 47 - Experience_Magazine_Winter2022_Barrett-Jackson

LOT #1417 - 2017 FORD GT ‘66 HERITAGE EDITION - NO RESERVE

FORD’S WINNING

COLORS

The bout began with a business deal turned sour – and some rather
choice words from Enzo Ferrari. Incensed by this, Henry Ford II (“The
Deuce”) took the Ford Motor Company to war. Their goal: beat Ferrari
at their own game, on their own turf. It was the ultimate contest, a
moonshot and matter of pride for the Blue Oval. The result was the GT40,
a proper no-frills thoroughbred graceful in its singular purpose: To win.
And win it did – just not right away. At its first three competitive
outings the GT40 suffered. Plagued by teething issues, the cars entered
failed to finish a single race. The racing program was then moved
across the Atlantic from England to Michigan and on to California,
where a well-known Texan, Carroll Shelby, decidedly gave the GT40
program a shot in the arm. Success began to mount and, in 1965,
the GT40 took its maiden victory at Daytona. But the rest of the year,
including Le Mans, was a disaster, with none of the five GT40s entered
able to finish. Clearly more work needed to be done. But by 1966 the

VISIT BARRETT-JACKSON.COM FOR THE COMPLETE DOCKET 47