福特 GT40 - 1966 年勒芒冠军车

我们福特GT40系列的一个新版本，我们可以透露，我们正在开发一辆2号车的模型，这辆车在1966年由布鲁斯·迈凯伦和克里斯·阿蒙驾驶，在勒芒正式赢得比赛。我们的第一个原型预计在年中完成，首批限量版模型目前预计在第三季度推出。

福特GT40是有史以来最具标志性的赛车之一，它诞生于赛车运动中最臭名昭著的恩怨。在未能成功收购恩佐·法拉利备受赞誉的公司后，亨利·福特二世空手回到美国，并宣称他渴望在勒芒击败法拉利。结果就是诞生了一款能击败所有对手的赛车。

福特GT40在1964年至1969年间生产了五年，其开发在一开始特别随意。尽管福特拥有巨大的财富和生产能力，但作为一个组织，它在赛车方面的专业知识少之又少。福特与英国的洛拉汽车（Lola Cars）老板兼首席设计师埃里克·布罗德利（Eric Broadley）协商达成了一项协议，并派遣英国工程师罗伊·伦恩（Roy Lunn）回到英国，在该项目中担任关键角色，后者已经完成了初步设计。在美国设计师哈雷·科普（Harley Copp）的监督下，布罗德利、伦恩和前阿斯顿·马丁车队老板约翰·怀尔（John Wyer）组成的团队开始在布罗姆利的洛拉工厂研发这款新车。1963年底，该团队迁至斯劳，在新成立的福特高级车辆总部（Ford Advanced Vehicles HQ），由怀尔负责指导。1963年8月，迈凯伦汽车公司（McLaren Automotive）的布鲁斯·迈凯伦（Bruce McLaren）受雇对一款原型车进行评估，随后工作进展迅速，尽管在揭幕前才勉强完成。第一辆GT40，即GT/101（“GT40”这个名称后来才出现，取自该车的高度：挡风玻璃顶部高40英寸），于1964年4月1日在英国亮相，不久后在纽约展出。用于比赛的成品车购买价格为5200英镑（按现代价值计算超过10万英镑）。

由于福特汽车公司团队试图在10个月内完成法拉利历经数十年才完善的成果，这款车早期的问题显而易见。几周后的勒芒测试暴露出高速行驶时严重的不稳定问题；GT40能达到每小时200英里（321公里）的速度，但时速超过170英里（273公里）时就有飞离地面的趋势。在迈凯伦的建议下，车上加装了扰流板，并做了其他改进。此时，这款车已准备好参赛。然而，在纽伯格林、勒芒和兰斯等地的首次亮相堪称灾难，这些赛车很少能冲过终点线。勒芒赛事中的三辆车在比赛进行到12小时时都退赛了。作为回应，福特高层将该项目撤回美国，并将运营控制权交给了美国传奇前赛车手卡罗尔·谢尔比。谢尔比和他的研发车手肯·迈尔斯致力于改进设计，迈尔斯发现初始设计参数丢失，当他将悬架重置为原始设置后，性能大幅提升。空气动力学测试很快表明，气流状况比想象的更糟。谢尔比的美国工程师菲尔·雷明顿重新布置了管道以改变气流，使发动机又增加了79马力，同时更换为更轻质的材料：用玻璃纤维取代铝和钢，用更宽的镁合金轮毂取代钢丝辐条轮毂，还做了其他一些改进。突然间，GT40不仅看起来像一辆赛车，性能上也表现得像赛车了。

1966 marked the beginning of the GT40 legend. Daytona was now a 24-hour race and, whilst Ferrari did not enter any of their factory cars, Ken Miles and Lloyd Ruby led home a 1-2-3-5 victory for the American giants on their home turf. This was quickly followed by another victory 1-2-3 at Sebring, as the single Ferrari prototype entry retired after an accident. However, it was the Le Mans crown that the Americans coveted. Ford assembled an army for the race that year: eight cars, over 100 personnel with 21 tonnes of spare parts across three privateer teams, up against 11 Ferraris, including 330P3 and 385P2s. In a race of attrition, Ford defeated Ferrari in style, dominating the podium with the top three finishers and becoming the first American manufacturer to emerge victorious at Le Mans. Three years after being rejected by Ferrari, Ford had developed one of the best endurance cars in the world and won on the field of contest. With the Le Mans victory, Ford also claimed the International Manufacturer Championship.

In the meantime, Ford had already started development for an all-new replacement for 1967, initially dubbed the J-car and later the Mk IV. With a much lighter aluminium honeycomb chassis and a new body that best combined low drag with high-speed stability, the Mk IV immediately won at Sebring on its competitive debut in the hands of Bruce McLaren and Mario Andretti, a victory even more striking after Ferrari had dominated at Daytona just a month beforehand. At Le Mans, Dan Gurney and A. J. Foyt claimed a four-lap victory over Ferrari, in a highly competitive race that saw only 15 classified finishers, to become the first and only all-American entry (American chassis, engine, tyres, team and drivers) to ever win at Le Mans. A day later, new regulations announced for 1968 rendered the Mk IV obsolete, limiting engine sizes to three litres for the prototype category. However, this was not yet the end for the GT40.

To attract more entrants that could compete for overall wins, existing sportscars like the GT40 were allowed, with a maximum of a five-litre engine if at least 50 cars had been built. John Wyer’s team took some Mk Is, increasing the 4.7 litre to a 4.9 litre and taking steps to prevent head gasket failure by installing O-rings between the block and head, a common problem found with the 4.7 engine. Chassis #1075, dressed in the iconic blue and orange livery of Gulf Oil International, emerged victorious at Le Mans in the hands of Pedro Rodriguez and Lucien Bianchi, defeating the fragile smaller three litre prototypes from Porsche, Alfa and others. The result, the last of the season after the race had been moved to September due to unrest in France earlier in the year, saw Ford steal an unexpected 1968 International Championship for Makes title from right under Porsche’s nose. #1075 returned for the 1969 edition of Le Mans, facing more experienced prototypes and the new yet still unreliable 4.5 litre flat-12-powered Porsche 917s, A phenomenal effort by Jacky Ickx and Jackie Oliver saw them pip the Porsche 908 of Hans Hermann and Gérard Larrousse for victory by just 120 metres (390 feet) after 372 laps, recording the closest-run competitive finish in the history of the Le Mans 24 Hours, and one of the greatest in all of the history of motor racing. The GT40 may have now been obsolete, but its domination at Le Mans for the past four years had very much sealed its place as one of the most successful racing machines in the annals of motorsport.

This perfect 1:8 scale model of the Ford GT40 is based on the chassis #1046, which was raced to victory by Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon in the 24 Hours of Le Mans at Circuit de la Sarthe on the 18th and 19th June 1966. One of eight Ford GT40 Mark II entries, #1046 qualified fourth, behind the other Mark IIs of Dan Gurney and Jerry Grant, Ken Miles and Denny Hulme, and John Whitmore and Frank Gardner and ahead of the fastest Ferrari, a 330 P3 Spyder driven by Pedro Rodriguez and Richie Ginther.

Henry Ford II was the honorary starter, waving the flag to begin the race. Miles had to pit for repairs after closing the door onto his helmet at the beginning of the race, whilst McLaren had to pull in for new tyres after just three laps. The rest of the cars roared on with the Fords and Ferraris trading the lead through much of the early race. By 8pm, only three cars were on the lead lap, Miles leading Ford’s Gurney and Ferrari’s Rodriguez, with the McLaren/Amon a lap down. At dusk, light rain dampened the track, reducing the power advantage of the big GT40s, whilst several of the Fords had chosen to change brake pads early, allowing Ferrari to keep in touch. After midnight, the tables began to turn: the Ferraris began to drop out with mechanical difficulties and, while Ford had some withdrawals, the bulk of the American team raced on, at one point holding seven of the top eight spots with Mk II and Mk I GT40s. By 4am, the last of the Ferraris was out of the race and the order went out for the teams to slow, from an early pace of 3:30 per lap to a more strategic 3:50 per lap, to ensure that most cars could complete the race.

Gurney was in the lead most of the evening, with Miles and McLaren trading 2nd and 3rd place depending upon their pit stop order, until mid-morning when the #3 Ford blew a head gasket, forcing its retirement. Despite this setback, Ford still had the first three places between the Shelby American entries Miles/Hulme and McLaren/Amon and the Holman & Moody entrant of Bucknum and Hutcherson. With two hours to go, Ford racing director Leo Beebe met with Carroll Shelby met to discuss how the team should approach the end of the race. The leaders contrived to create a stalemate between Miles and McLaren, telling both drivers to ease off, particularly Miles who was currently in the lead, to allow Hutcherson to catch them and ensure a full Ford podium at the chequered flag. During the final lap, the three Ford cars rode in tandem with Miles and McLaren crossing the finish line in a dead heat, with Hutcherson close behind. The photo finish was intact. However, ACO rules dictated, controversially, that McLaren and Amon had covered more distance during the race due to their starting positions further back, and thus the #2 would be declared the winner. With that, Ford became the first American manufacturer to win at Le Mans, and Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon become the maiden New Zealanders to achieve the feat. The victory at Le Mans also sealed Ford a narrow victory over Ferrari in the International Manufacturer Championship.

1966年勒芒夺冠的福特GT40（车型）仅限量生产199辆。