Ford GT history: review
'Ford GT: How Ford Silenced the Critics, Humbled Ferrari and Conquered Le Mans'
This disappointment can be avoided with a gentle nudge in the right direction. Today that direction is a book delivered to us for review and just in time to make our Christmas lists. We'll have a few more like this coming over the next few days too.
Although of suitable coffee table proportions the text is not something to be merely skimmed over. The many stories behind the creation of the GT40 legend are successfully intertwined, from Ford's motivation - personal and corporate - to the contributions of the numerous notable individuals to whom the car owes its success.
And, of course, plenty of absorbing accounts of the car's development and racing history. Contentious moments are viewed through the lenses of as many different participants as possible to let you understand the context. Author Preston Lerner also does a commendable job of remaining impartial when it comes to the Anglo-American aspect of the GT40's creation. This is not a stars and stripes tribute to American ingenuity beating the Europeans at their own game, but neither is it the story of a handful of plucky Brits who deserve all of the real credit.
Ford GT - How Ford Silenced the Critics, Humbled Ferrari and Conquered Le Mans provides an excellent blend of narrative with deep levels of technical detail, rendering it accessible to the casual motorsport fan but still interesting enough for the true enthusiast. Coupled with the stunning photography and the high quality production, whether you're familiar with the GT40's story or approaching it for the first time, it should be high up on any PHer's holiday reading list. People still give book tokens at Christmas, right?
Ford GT - How Ford Silenced the Critics, Humbled Ferrari and Conquered Le Mans by Preston Lerner
For more information click here
[Words: Dafydd Wood]
Photos: LAT
Can't recommend AJ Baime's 'Go Like Hell' enough, too. The GT40 story is a fantastic sports chronicle full of bitterness, revenge, passion, bravery and tragedy, all played out by some of THE most iconic figures in Motor Sport history - Henry Ford II, Enzo Ferrari, John Surtees, Bruce McClaren, Ken Miles and of course Carroll Shelby. Will someone please make the bloody film!
Humbled Ferrari? Not at all.
Point a: Ford used a 5 litre vs Ferrari 3 litre, the following year Ford used a 7 litre against Ferrari's 4 litre.
Point b: Ford were/are a massive company with huge resources, and Ferrari were a tiny little company then....even now they are small in car terms, but now at least have FIAT backing them up.
Point c: Even with their huge resources, Ford took 3 odd years to beat them at Le Mans.
Point a: Ford used a 5 litre vs Ferrari 3 litre, the following year Ford used a 7 litre against Ferrari's 4 litre.
Point b: Ford were/are a massive company with huge resources, and Ferrari were a tiny little company then....even now they are small in car terms, but now at least have FIAT backing them up.
Point c: Even with their huge resources, Ford took 3 odd years to beat them at Le Mans.
Also, back in the early 1960's Ferrari were the undisputed kings of Le Mans, winning in '58, '60, '61, '62 and 1963 prior to Ford entering the fray in 1964. That they won again in 1964 and 1965 shows how strong and experienced Ferrari were at this type of European racing. Ford, despite the money (and ambition of Henry Ford II) had no experience of that kind of motor racing at all - oval racing was pretty much all they had experienced in the USA, so knowledge of what they were up against was pretty slim. Indeed, it was only really when Carroll Shelby (who managed to trip up Ferrari courtesy of Aston Martin in 1959) joined that they really got to grips with the idiosyncrasies of Le Mans and turned their racer into a winner.
As for waiting 3 years, well, motor sport could take as much time even these days. If VW decided to enter, say, Formula 1 without drafting in any experienced names (Ross Brawn, etc) then, despite their gigantic wealth, they wouldn't be guaranteed a F1 Championship in their first year, either.
Ford certainly took the wind from Ferrari's sails, in time for Porsche and their astonishing 917 to come along and finish the job. That the most famous sportscar company in the world ever hasn't officially challenged for the top Sportscar/GT Championship since those days is quite telling, IMHO.
http://broadleyautomotive.co.uk/the-legacy
Point a: Ford used a 5 litre vs Ferrari 3 litre, the following year Ford used a 7 litre against Ferrari's 4 litre.
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