August 1963: In England, work begins on the Ford GT, a low, sleek
coupe based loosely on Eric Broadley's Lola GT.
April 1964: Ford GT is presented
to the press.
June 1964: Ford GTs become known
as GT40s and race at Le Mans. All retire early due to aerodynamic
instabilities and transaxle failures; nonetheless they prove fast enough
for competition.
Autumn 1964: Ford hires Carroll
Shelby to oversee the racing program. Shelby later installs the proven
7-liter "427" stock-car engine in what would later be called the Mark II
GT40.
February 1965: Ken Miles and Lloyd
Ruby drive a GT40 to its first win at the Daytona 2000-km race, breaking
almost every established track record.
February 1966: With the Mark II
cars well-sorted, Ford GT40s, led by Miles and Ruby, take a 1-2-3 sweep
at the first 24 hours of Daytona.
March 1966: At the Sebring
12-hour, Ford GT40s earn another 1-2-3 victory.
June 1966: In just its third
season, Ford cruises to a 1-2-3 win at 24-hours of Le Mans, taking the
"triple crown" of endurance racing.
January 1967: Testing of the
all-new GT40 Mark IV begins.
March 1967: Driven by Bruce
McLaren and Mario Andretti, the all-new Mark IV wins at its racing debut
at Sebring, setting new speed and distance records.
June 1967: In a dramatic duel with
Ferrari, Dan Gurney and A.J. Foyt drove their GT40 Mark IV to victory at
Le Mans, beating the Ferraris by just four laps.
June 1968: For the 1968 season,
engine displacement was capped at 5 liters, and the Mark I GT40s
returned, winning Le Mans under Gulf Oil sponsorship.
June 1969: In perhaps the most
exciting event in the history of endurance racing, Jacky Ickx and Jackie
Oliver scored GT40's final Le Mans win, leading the competition by just
two seconds after the 24-hour race.
March 2001: Camilo Pardo is
appointed as chief designer of the GT40 concept.
January 2002: Ford CEO Bill Ford
unveils GT40 concept at the North American International Auto Show in
Detroit.
