Ferrari only entered two official cars in 1966, feeling secure after winning the five previous endurance races at Le Mans. To the dismay of the Italians, neither finished the race, giving Ford’s MKII cars a chance to end Ferrari’s hegemony in motorsport.
In that year, Ford submitted eight vehicles. Miles and his racing partner Denny Hulme, Dan Gurney and Jerry Grant, and Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon were in charge of the three vehicles that Shelby was directly in charge of. The Ford/Shelby team consumed miles as they raced relentlessly for 24 hours around the eight-mile course that wound through the French countryside in pursuit of a triumph that would change the trajectory of 1960s racing history.
Three Fords were in the lead at the time of the last pit stop. Miles and Hulme were in the lead, followed by McLaren and Amon in second, and another Ford entry, driven by Ronnie Bucknum and Dick Hutcherson, who were holding third despite being 12 laps behind the leaders.
In This Article...
The Ford v Ferrari film, featuring Christian Bale as Ken Miles and Matt Damon as Carroll Shelby, brought the tale of Ken Miles, Carroll Shelby, and Ford’s GT40 defeating Ferrari at Le Mans in 1966 to the attention of the world. But what was the actual sequence of events that led to what happened?
As you might anticipate from a Hollywood movie, the plotline strayed from reality a bit. What portions of the movie are therefore accurate, and what details were exaggerated for artistic and dramatic effect? Check out the second in a series of videos covering the actual race and the movie in the one up top (part 1 can be viewed below).
At a race in California, did Ken Miles actually throw a wrench at Shelby? Has he ever thrown a punch at him in public? Was Ford management sabotaging Miles after he had a multiple-lap lead at Le Mans because they wanted their other drivers to win? At the finish line, what actually transpired? What did the actual podium scenario look like?
Using exclusive footage from Motorsport.tv’s Le Mans archive and images from Motorsport Images, we tell the story of what actually happened with interviews with a number of motorsport experts, including Miles’s son Peter, who was a young boy when all the real-life drama unfolded. Tom Kristensen, a nine-time winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours, serves as the narration.
Who won the Ford vs. Ferrari battle?
Ford suffers another setback as Ferrari’s new 330 P4 destroys its GT40s in the 1967 Daytona 24 Hours, taking the race in a humiliating 1-2-3 finish, only months after Miles died in testing.
However, Shelby has the solution in the form of a brand-new, American-made vehicle named the Mark IV. It gets its revenge at the next year’s Le Mans with famous drivers Dan Gurney and AJ Foyt after a fantastic race that features a time when the leaders come to a stop out on the course in the most strange stand-off in motorsport history!
Ford defeated Ferrari at Le Mans in what year?
In 1964, Ford Motor Company began making an effort to defeat Ferrari at Le Mans. After two disastrous seasons in which Fords were unable to even complete the race, the American carmaker experienced an exciting 1-2-3 sweep in 1966. On the podium, Henry Ford II celebrated the decisive victory alongside the two New Zealand-born race winners, Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon.
Ford vs. Ferrari: Who Won in 1966?
The actual world Le Mans ’66 came to a thrilling conclusion with a historic result as all three Ford vehicles tied for first place when they passed the finish line.
Who won a race that Ford won?
Henry Ford’s first race automobile is this one. Ford went to racing to rebuild his name following the failure of his first automobile company. On October 10, 1901, he competed in the “Sweepstakes” against Alexander Winton, and to everyone’s amazement, the inexperienced Ford defeated the seasoned Winton.
Did Ferrari lose to the GT40?
This article is about the winning racing vehicle from the 1960 Le Mans. See Ford GT for the supercar that was inspired by it. See DEC GT40 for more information about the graphic computer terminal made by Digital Equipment Corporation. Ford GT is a trademark (disambiguation).
The Ford Motor Company commissioned the high-performance endurance racing Ford GT40. It developed from the “Ford GT” (for Grand Touring) project, an attempt to fight against Ferrari in renowned 24 Hours of Le Mans races in Europe from 1960 to 1965. Ford had success with the GT40, winning the competitions from 1966 until 1969.
The project got underway when Ford Advanced Vehicles in Slough, UK, started producing the GT40 Mk I, which was based on the Lola Mk6. The engineering team was relocated to Dearborn, Michigan in 1964 as a result of dismal race performances (Kar Kraft). Several American-built Ford V8 engines that had been adapted for racing powered the range.
The GT40 Mk II ended Ferrari’s winning streak at Le Mans in 1966, becoming the first American manufacturer to win a significant European race since Jimmy Murphy’s Duesenberg victory at the 1921 French Grand Prix. The Mk IV was the only vehicle wholly developed and produced in the United States to take home the overall Le Mans victory in 1967.
The Mk I, the oldest of the vehicles, won in 1968 and 1969, becoming the second chassis to do so. (Until the Ferrari 275P chassis 0816 was found to have won the 1964 race after winning the 1963 race in 250P format and with an 0814 chassis plate, this Ford/Shelby chassis, #P-1075, was thought to have been the first.) With the addition of bespoke alloy Gurney-Weslake cylinder heads, its American Ford V8 engine’s 4.7-liter displacement capacity (289 cubic inches) was increased to 4.9 liters (302 cubic inches).
The “40” stood for its minimum permitted height of 40 inches (1.02 m), measured at the windshield. The initial 12 “prototype” cars had serial numbers ranging from GT-101 to GT-112. The Mk I, Mk II, Mk III, and Mk IV were officially referred to as “GT40s” once “production” started and were given the numbers GT40P/1000 through GT40P/1145. J1–J12 were the Mk IVs’ serial numbers.
What prevented Ferrari from selling to Ford?
Sadly, the narrative is not quite so straightforward. Henry Ford II tried to buy Ferrari in 1963, according to The New York Times. However, according to Forbes, the real action begins in 1962. Ford was attempting to recover from a decline in sales at the time. Ford Division general manager Lee Iacocca persuaded CEO Henry Ford II, the eldest son of Edsel Ford and the eldest grandson of Henry Ford, that the company should purchase a sports car in an effort to reverse the trend.
Ford was on the verge of acquiring Ferrari and all of its assets in 1963, making Ford’s ambitions of owning a sports car a reality. Forbes claims that Enzo Ferrari also anticipated the deal’s completion. Sadly, his excitement was short-lived when he learned that the deal had a provision that would give Ford control over the Ferrari racing team. Enzo rejected the agreement because he was unwilling to give up control of the Ferrari racing team.
Is the Ford vs. Ferrari tale true?
James Mangold directed the true story-based film Ford vs. Ferrari. The movie is about a 24-hour endurance event that occurred at the 1966 Le Mans race. A team of auto engineers engaged by Ford to develop a racing that can outperform a Ferrari sports vehicle at the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in France is the center of the movie’s plot. Carroll Shelby, a pioneer in the automotive industry, and British race car driver Ken Miles are in charge of the Ford team. Carroll Shelby is portrayed in the movie by Matt Damon, while Ken Miles is portrayed by Christian Bale, who also plays Batman.
What did Henry Ford hear from Enzo Ferrari?
Tell your pigheaded employer that all of his, eh, pompous executives are worthless sons of whores, said Ford Italian Translator Gary. Italo Ferrari Inform him that he is not Henry Ford
Shelby may have indeed taken Ford on a trip.
Even while we wish it were true, it just never did. Henry Ford II bursts into a mixture of sorrow and hilarity when Carrol Shelby takes him for a joyride in his creation in the movie. It is portrayed as being a part of a scheme to get Miles a seat in the 1966 Le Mans race. However, as we already established, Ford didn’t object to the British driver participating, thus the incident was needless.
The president of one of the biggest automakers in America being taken for a joyride in a race vehicle without a helmet is also quite unusual. Back then, safety restrictions were somewhat lax but not so lax.
There is no evidence that this scene ever occurred, which puts the icing on the cake in terms of facts. You’d think someone would have noticed if Henry Ford II jumped into a GT40.
Le Mans: Did Bruce McLaren really prevail?
On the occasion of the 55th anniversary of Bruce McLaren’s victory at Le Mans, it is important to remember that the driver of a works Ford competed in the race eight times, winning at his sixth try in 1966.
Ferruccio Lamborghini heard Enzo Ferrari say something.
Your mind undoubtedly conjures up a pretty specific image when you hear the word “Lamborghini.” It is one of the most well-known supercars in the world, the product of Italian engineering and a passion for speed. However, a tractor part and an insult were actually the real starting points for the supercar.
Tractor manufacturing was a lucrative business for Ferruccio Lamborghini. He was an expert engine mechanic and served in the Italian Air Force. He started making tractors in his tiny garage using army excess that the Allies had left over after the war, in 1945.
He soon constructed a factory and rose to become one of Italy’s top producers of agricultural equipment as the demand for his potent Lamborghini tractors grew rapidly. Due to its success, a second business started producing heating and cooling systems. Ferruccio Lamborghini rose to prominence as one of the richest men in the nation.
Mr. Lamborghini had unlimited resources, and he had a passion for automobiles.
He possessed a white Ferrari for himself and a black Ferrari for his wife. He also owned a Jaguar, a Maserati, a high-end Mercedes, and two Ferraris. However, the Ferrari’s clutches continued to malfunction and required frequent repairs at the Ferrari plant.
Lamborghini had his own tractor mechanics examine the issue because it kept happening. In actuality, Ferrari was utilizing the identical clutch element that he had employed in his tractors. Indignant, Lamborghini was. While Ferrari charged him 1000 lire for the same item, he only paid 10 lire for his tractor’s clutches. Lamborghini was also horrified to discover that exquisite Ferraris were actually constructed from tractor parts.
After making that finding, he hurried to the Ferrari corporate headquarters and pushed for a meeting with founder Enzo Ferrari. Enzo Ferrari roared back at Lamborghini after he complained, claiming that the driver, not the car, was the issue. Lamborghini was admonished by him to return to his tractors and leave him alone.
Ferruccio Lamborghini was prompted to create his own high-end sports automobile by such slur.
He constructed a factory, employed several of Ferrari’s mechanics and engineers, and created an opulent, fast car with a top speed of 240 km/h.
The Lambourghini 350 GT was the name of the initial model that left his plant in 1963. The logo for Lamborghini’s new car is based on the bull of his zodiac sign, Taurus. On that day, a long-lasting and ferocious rivalry between Ferrari and Lamborghini began.
And that is how Lamborghinis came to be. It was a supercar that was created from an insult and a 10 lire tractor part.
How many horsepower had the Ford GT40?
Tech Specs 4736 cc (289 cubic inches), 390 horsepower at 7000 rpm, eight-cylinder 90deg vee pushrod engine, four twin-choke Weber carburetors, wet sump lubrication.
Miles and Shelby truly fought, right?
Some racial incidents were just included to advance the plot and strengthen the characters. The Willow Springs Raceway in California was one such instance. The conflict between Shelby, Miles, and Beebe was also exaggerated.
Although they did occasionally disagree with one another on their working practices, risk factors, etc., their disagreements weren’t as heated as they appeared in the film. Shelby and Miles also never actually argued, in contrast to how the movie depicted their relationship. Those scenes were just included to heighten the tension.