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Le Mans-raced Ford GT40 Heading to Auction, Estimated to Fetch $12 Million

Up to $12 million. That’s the estimate on this Day-Glo GT40 MkII that finished third at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966. Chassis 1016 will go under the hammer courtesy of RM Sotheby’s in California at the Monterey Sale at the end of August.
Le Mans-raced Ford GT40 (chassis 1016) 19 photos
Photo: RM Sotheby's
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Also known as GT40P, the V8 brawler saw racing action in three major long-distance races in its first year of existence. Other than the best-known endurance race of them all, chassis 1016 was put through its paces at Daytona and Sebring.

Fielded at the Le Mans Classic since 2004, this fellow finished 348 laps of the Circuit de la Sarthe at the 24 Hours of Le Mans back in 1966. By comparison, the MkII racing cars that finished on second and first racked up 360 laps of the circuit. All three winning cars are equipped with the 7.0-liter big-block V8 from the Galaxie full-size sedan. The FE powerplant was also used in NASCAR at the time.

Ronnie Bucknum and Dick Hutcherson took turns behind the wheel in 1966. Their team brought improvement to the car with the introduction of a quick-change system for the brake pads. Although the company stopped racing in 1973, Holman – Moody had a lasting effect on all levels of motorsport. Innovations these guys brought to the forefront of racing include fire extinguisher systems, square-shaped tube frames, tube shocks, and fuel cells.

Back in its early days, the GT40 in MkII specification wasn't reliable, nor stable in a straight line at high speed, but those woes were eventually sorted. As for suck-squeeze-bang-blow, the 7.0-liter monster mounted right behind the seats was tuned to produce something in the ballpark of 485 horsepower.

Fast-forward to 2003, and that’s when the previous owner poured a lot of money into the car, restoring chassis 1016 back to its original condition. And since then, this blast from the past said hello to motorsport fans and car lovers alike at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Pebble Beach, Villa d’Este, and on The Grand Tour.

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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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