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Ford GT40 Waterproof Half Cover
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 The Ford GT40 is a truly iconic vehicle that has attained a legendary status thanks to a string of victories coupled with a design that is timeless and still looks as contemporary today as it did when it was released. The victory the Ford GT40 is most associated with is 24 Hours of Le Mans when it took victory four consecutive times from 1966 through to 1969. Originally Ford designed the GT40 in order to do one thing; beat Ferrari at their own game. Traditionally Ferrari ruled the roost as far as long distance racers went so Ford decided to break their winning streak with the new GT40. The name of the vehicle itself refers to the type of car (a Grand Tourisme) and the height of the car (40 inches, a height mandated by many race organisers for the class that Ford wished to compete in with the GT40).
The Ford GT40 Mk I was powered by a 4.2 litre V8 engine, however this was quickly replaced by a much bigger 4.6 litre V8 that offered much more power for very little weight increase. Ford also developed a roadster version of the GT40 that they dubbed the X1, this was released in 1965 and was designed to take part in the North American Pro Series. Once it had completed various races it was retired but continued to test various new modifications such as the large 7.0 litre engine that would be commonplace on the series. The MkII GT40 was the next version of the car from Ford and the first true model to utilise the new 7.0 litre engine. When the Mk II Ford GT40 was entered at Daytona technical difficulties sadly forced all of the vehicles to retire allowing Ferrari to scoop the prized top spots.
The most unique and hard to find version is the Ford GT40 Mk III. Only seven Mk III's were ever built making them exceptionally hard to find, and although many loathed the new design at the time they are now rare collectors items. This version of the Ford GT40 was designed as a road car and not a racer and henceforth featured an extended body that allowed for luggage storage; many felt that this stretching spoiled the lines of the classic vehicle. The GT40 by this time was getting long in the tooth so Ford decided it needed an overhaul. The result was a brand new concept very closely related to the previous GT40 known as the J-car. Sadly the J-car crashed killing the driver however the lessons that were learned in the development of the vehicle were directly applied to the Mk IV version of the GT40. This new version was rebuilt from the ground up by Ford and it went on to take a whole string of victories throughout its racing career.
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