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Ford GT40 Lightweight Breathable Car Cover
 The Ford GT40 is an iconic racing car and sports car that has left behind a long and much appreciated legacy. It has taken a large number of victories throughout it's life (it took first place at the 24 Horus of Le Mans for four consecutive years) and its unique design still looks contemporary and modern to this day even though the vehicle is over forty years old. Initially Ford designed the GT40 as a Ferrari beater; Ferrari traditionally dominated long distance endurance style races so Ford created the GT40 with this task and only this task in mind. The GT40 name is an amalgamation of the type of car (Grand Tourisme) coupled with the vehicle height (40 inches). In order to compete with Ferrari Ford decided to eschew the Ferrari notion of using a 3.0 litre V12 and instead opted for their own V8 engines with either 4.2, 4.6 or 7.0 litre capacities.
The MkI Ford GT40 featured the weakest engine in the vehicles life; a 4.2 litre V8, however this soon proved somewhat underpowered so was replaced with a 4.6 litre that also powered the popular Mustang pony car. As a racing vehicle the GT40 saw constant development throughout its life and in 1965 Ford released the roadster X1 version of the vehicle. This was designed with one race in mind; the 1965 North American Pro Series, however it continued after this race as a test bed for the GT40 project. When mated with a 7.0 litre engine it took victory for Ford at the 12 Hours of Sebring race in 1966. The MkII Ford GT40 took the 7.0 litre engine and ran with it, and the combination of such power and such a lightweight vehicle proved a versatile combination.
The MkIII version of the GT40 was produced by Ford as a road car only and as such it featured increased interior space in order to allow room for luggage. Only seven were ever sold and it is now an incredibly rare piece of automotive history despite the fact that many believe it looks ugly and the modifications ruined the clean and graceful lines of the vehicle. After the MkIII Ford decided that the GT40 needed a complete redesign as technology had improved so much since they had released the MkI. The result was the MkIV that was designed from the ground up around the 7.0 litre V8 engine, and was initially termed the "J-Car", however a fatal accident ended the project and it was restarted as the official MkIV version. New engineering and design techniques were used in its construction and a greater understanding of aerodynamics resulted in a blisteringly fast vehicle that is still competitive today.
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