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<\/a><\/p>\nThe well-known tale about the genesis of the Ford GT program is that Henry Ford II, known popularly as \u201cThe Deuce,\u201d thought he had a deal with Enzo Ferrari to purchase the famous Italian automaker in 1963. Ford was in the process of introducing the Total Performance Program that would lead to a wildly successful dual program birthing incredible performance cars on both the street and race track\u2014in other words, \u201cWin on Sunday sell on Monday.\u201d Fords were winning in NASCAR, drag racing and in sports car racing with Ford-powered Shelby Cobras.<\/p>\n
The Deuce made the decision that Ford was going to build its first sports car, go road racing in Europe and win the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The problem was that Ford had never gone road racing in Europe, had never made a sports car and did not have the facility to build one. In concert with Ford Division General Manager Lee Iacocca, the decision was made to purchase Ferrari. Ferrari would design and build Ford\u2019s first sports car.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Ferrari, the man, had a history of aggravating business associates, already having enraged repeat customer Ferruccio Lamborghini so much that Lamborghini decided to start his own car company to compete with Ferrari. Likewise, Ferrari really angered Ford at their meeting in Italy to close the deal for the Italian carmaker. Ford famously declared war on Ferrari. \u201cIf I can\u2019t buy Ferrari, I\u2019m going to beat Ferrari.\u201d This led to the genesis of the Ford GT Le Mans effort in 1964.<\/p>\n By 1965, The Deuce had ordered Iacocca to undertake a \u201cwin at all costs\u201d NASA-like program to defeat Ferrari at the French endurance classic. What followed was the stuff of legends\u2014a Ford-versus-Ferrari heavyweight bout for supremacy in sports car racing, and the GT Competition Prototype Roadster was an important piece to the puzzle.<\/p>\n Completed in March 1965 by Ford Advanced Vehicles (FAV) in Slough, England, GT\/109 is one of 12 prototypes built by Ford between January 1964 and April 1965. A mere seven Ford GTs actually raced at Le Mans in 1964 and 1965, with four Prototypes\u2014including the lone Roadster GT\/109\u2014known to exist today. A Carroll Shelby-led Ford of France crew entered GT\/109 as No. 15 at Le Mans for the June 1965 running of the classic endurance race. When the brilliant red, white and blue French flag dropped to signal 55 drivers to run across the track to their cars, this GT Competition Prototype Roadster made history by becoming the only GT Roadster to ever compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.<\/p>\n The Ford GT Prototype had debuted in April 1964 at the Le Mans time trials as one of the most technically advanced racecars ever. It was also beautiful and provably capable of incredible speeds. Highly respected former Aston Martin team leader John Wyer was hired to manage the effort, but the cars debuted with inadequate testing and development. With the GT Prototype program not producing the expected results\u2014the first two cars had been destroyed in crashes at Le Mans and then Monza, not to mention the team had failed to finish a race during the season\u2014Iacocca decided to make some changes. In December 1964, two GT Competition Prototype Roadsters, GT\/103 and GT\/104, were sent to Shelby American in Los Angeles, where they were placed in the care of Shelby Chief Engineer Phil Remington and his very capable crew to be readied for the February 1965 season opener at the Daytona Continental. An intense period of testing and development produced the GT\u2019s first race victory\u2014and its first finish\u2014when Ken Miles and Lloyd Ruby co-drove GT\/103 to the overall win.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If the Miles and Ruby win at Daytona proved the GT\u2019s vast potential, it also reaffirmed Shelby American\u2019s already renowned reputation for thorough development and preparation, both of which came into play when Ford ordered the first two of five GT Prototype Competition Roadsters for testing and evaluation, numbered GT\/108 and GT\/109. The latter arrived at FAV in bare-chassis form in October 1964; documentation indicates GT\/109 was a special-order chassis, as indicated by the following notation in the FAV status report of October 1, 1964: \u201cDearborn Experimental Car With 3\u201d longer chassis-Not Now Required.\u201d In addition, while GT\/108 and GT\/109 appeared virtually identical, closer study revealed GT\/109\u2019s removable rollover section.<\/p>\n The Ford Total Performance Program\u2019s dual purpose was fully realized when GT\/108 was utilized for road use and GT\/109 was supplied to Shelby in March 1965 for use by Ford of France in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Shelby American Work Order No. 15116 was opened on May 19 to \u201cperform necessary repairs and mods to GT\/109.\u201d Completed on June 9, GT\/109 shared many of the modifications performed to the Daytona-winning Miles and Ruby car, including Halibrand magnesium wheels in place of the factory-installed Borrani wire wheels, front corner air dams and a Cobra-spec 289 CI engine connected to a ZF 5-speed gearbox.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Additional race modifications to the GT\/109 included the first use of side-mounted engine oil radiators, the addition of rear-body exit vents to relieve pressure that tended to build up under the rear-wheel arches, a higher rear-end spoiler to balance out the front splitters, four quick-release removable Dzus fasteners, center-section electric fuel pumps, a water radiator expansion tank and a center-section rollover cover that gave easy access to ancillary engine systems. The removable rollover section and other changes meant that GT\/109 was race ready without the need for further modifications.<\/p>\n Preparations for the 1965 Le Mans race were pressing for the Ford team. Upon arrival in France, the car\u2019s number was changed from 9 to 15, and testing was performed by Andre Simon and Jo Schlesser. GT\/109 was finished in Ford of France\u2019s racing livery of white paint with a dark blue center stripe bordered in red.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n <\/div><\/figure><\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n <\/div><\/figure>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>
