During the 1965 24 Hours of LeMans, Ford received much attention for two large-displacement GT40s entered in the race. These two prototypes were prepared by Kar Kraft, a subsidiary of Ford run by Roy Lunn. They chopped up the GT40 chassis to accept the 427 CID Galaxie engine. Unfortunately, development time on these cars was short and the decision to run them at Le Mans was unexpected.

The initial performance of the 427 GT40 was promising. The car could reach 210 mph down the Mulsanne straight and qualified almost ten seconds faster than any Ferrari. During the opening hours of the race, prototype GT40s were in the lead. Unfortunately transmission problems arose, retiring both cars. Afterwards, it was clear that the 427 GT40 would be the car to race and a more robust transmission was necessary to make the distance.

The 1965 car left many problems which Kar Kraft could not have reversed during their short development time. Although the car was basically the same as the Mark I it had several hundred additional pounds of reinforcing and a longer nose which interfered with aerodynamics. Even though these problems arose, it was decided that the relatively cheap, NASCAR-proven 427 would power the 1966 Mark Two GT40.

Both cars chassis GT/106 and GT/107 were disassembled for their component pieces after Le Mans.

24 Hours of LeMans, LeMans, France, 1968. Paul Hawkins/David Hobbes Ford GT40 in action. CD#CC0828A12A203-50

LeMans, LeMans, France, 1965. Miles/McLaren at 200 MPH+ Ford MK2 Prototype. CD#0776-3301-4355-14

LeMans, LeMans, France, 1965. Miles/McLaren Ford MKII Prototype. CD#0776-3301-4355-11

24 Hours of LeMans, LeMans, France, 1965. Ford Mark II prototype driven by Chris Amon/Phil Hill. CD#0777-3292-0630-20.

24 Hours of LeMans, LeMans, France, 1965. Carroll Shelby stands at the rear of the Ford Mark II prototype that Phil Hill and Chris Amon drove. CD#0777-3292-0630-15.