Talk:Ford GT40

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Al Holbert's Löwenbräu Porsche 962. This article is part of WikiProject Sports Car Racing, an attempt to improve and standardize articles related to various sports car racing series throughout the world. If you would like to participate, you can edit the article attached to this page, or visit the project page, where you can join the project and/or contribute to the discussion.

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[edit] Builder

In fact the car was never produced by Ford but by John Wyer in England. I don't rember the name of his company.

But he was essentially a contractor for Ford. He didn't design the cars, but prepared the cars in a Ford workshop in Slough. Check out http://www.gt40.co.uk/gt40st15.html Hotlorp
In fact John Wyer was CEO of created FAV (Ford Advanced Vehicles) wich built the first prototypes and a was a subsidiary of Ford. Racing car development was thereafter given to Caroll Shelby. And then Wyer buyed FAV wich was renamed John Wyer automotive Ltd (I'm not 100% sure). The deal give Wyer the right to produce and sell Ford GT40 and most of the right on the GT40. I don't know if Wyer licensed the GT40 to Safir or other replicas maker or not. Some Ford GT40 where also built by Hollman & Moody in the USA and Alan Mann in UK.
Ericd
Have a look http://www.holmanmoody.com/gt40/gt40home.htm this seems to be the most authentic GT40 produced tpday
Ericd

I believe the good title is "Ford GT-40" instead of "Ford GT40". I'm I wrong ? Ericd 20:33 Apr 14, 2003 (UTC)

I've seen both forms, more or less in equal amounts. Perhaps Ford used both? A brochure facsimilie saying GT40 is here, so I'm pretty sure GT40 without a dash is not wrong. -- Egil 22:04 Apr 14, 2003 (UTC)

Even Ford was fuzzy I'm quite sure the logo on the car is GT-40. Ericd 09:58 Apr 16, 2003 (UTC)

If someone could find a basic GT-40 pic this would be cool ! Ericd 01:22, 20 Dec 2004 (UTC)

There's something wrong in the table IMO. Speed doesnt match with distance ! Ericd 20:36, 11 Jan 2005 (UTC)

I see what you mean. It's possible that they covered more distance at a slower pace with less stops, but not too logical. We'll have to check on the accuracy of the numbers. --SFoskett 21:23, Jan 11, 2005 (UTC)

I've removed this (very good) pic because this is a Wyer Mirage M1 not a Ford GT-40. The Miarge M1 is a Gt-40 derivative but has a different cockpit with different air intakes and a 5,7 L engine. Ericd 15:51, 17 Jan 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Copyvio

Part of the text on this page seems to have been taken from other websites. Specifically: "Just as with many classic sportscars, several companies made replicas of the GT40 - of varying quality. One of the best such companies was Safir Engineering, which bought the rights to the name "GT40" in 1985, and built cars until 1999 with chassis numbers continuing the sequence where the original Ford cars stopped. http://www.motorbase.com/vehicle/by-id/1508332899/" Just wanted to bring this up.

Thanks for pointing this out. I will look into this ASAP and will try to remove the copyvio text. --SFoskett 12:37, May 30, 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Serious doubt about accuracy

"The Lotus Europa was the design put forth by Lotus, who went on to win the Indianapolis 500 with the 4.2 L Fairline engine behind a Lotus 38 monocoque, the first mid-engined car to ever win at Indy. But that was in the future, and the Lola proposal was chosen by American race veterans Carroll Smith and Carroll Shelby, who prefered Eric Broadley's design for their intended V8 drivetrain." - Chapman may have proposed a design that eventually matured in the Europa but IMO that wasn't the Europa. - Shelby wasn't involved in the project at that time. Ericd 13:06, 21 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Grand Tourisme/Gran Turismo

FIA regulations are written in French since the FIA exists. Ericd 13:11, 21 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Photo

The GT-40 replica is a replica ;-). But worse the car doesn't match any historic accuracy. It has the Wyer/FAV stock front body that none of the authentic cars with this livery had used. Ericd 13:20, 21 December 2005 (UTC)

The picture credits write something else, however even if its a real 1965 car this one very far from its 1965 configuration. Ericd 13:25, 21 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Racing car template

I've had a stab at a template for racing cars (see template:Racing car) to summarise the usual data. I've used the F1 templates as a starting point and applied it to the Brabham BT46 article. If anyone's got an interest in this, please have a look at the template and modify or suggest changes as appropriate. After a few people have had a go at it and we have something we're happy with we could start to use it more widely. Note that it's not meant to be specific to F1, by the way. Cheers. 4u1e 10:35, 2 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Internal inconsistency

The caption for the first photo says it is the 1966 Le Mans winner, driven by Ruby and Miles. But the text (and results table) indicate the race was won by Amon and McLaren. DH85868993 03:22, 14 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Could someone add text listing the class the GT40 ran in?

Today, Le Mans has 4 classes. Was there only one in the 1960's? Will (Talk - contribs) 08:18, 1 June 2008 (UTC)