Chassis Number: P1085
One of the little-known aspects of Ford’s GT40 program was the company’s early interest in civilizing it for the road as the Mk III, to be marketed as an exotic halo model. To that end, 20 late-production GT40 chassis were commissioned in late 1966 by Ford headquarters in Detroit for the planned Mk III program. However, the effort and projected costs involved with producing a Mk III street car from the basis of the all-out GT40 Mk II race car, not to mention the exorbitant purchase price, soon ended the project.
Ultimately, just seven examples of the street Mk III were ever produced, leaving 13 unused GT40 Mk III chassis. Throughout production, all GT40 chassis were stamped of steel and assembled by Abbey Panels in Coventry, England, with the entire batch completed by the end of 1966. Among the 13 unused Mk III chassis was P1085, the last GT40 to be numbered in production sequence by Ford Advanced Vehicles, and the basis for the vehicle offered here.
The provenance of P1085 is exceptionally well documented by GT40 authority and author Ronnie Spain, beginning from March 20, 1969, when the chassis was purchased from Ford Advanced Vehicles, through the long-overdue build-up of P1085 and following its completion, on March 21, 2009, when this GT40 was test-driven.
Powered by an original 1968 5-liter, competition-spec Ford V8 engine sporting a set of exotic Weslake lightweight alloy cylinder heads and four twin-choke Weber carburetors, P1085 delivers a proven 479 peak horsepower at a track-worthy 6,500 rpm via the original-specification ZF 5-speed manual transaxle. An itemized inventory list of the multitude of original parts and components used is included in the history file, fascinating reading that silently underscores the true period-correct integrity of P1085.
As offered, P1085 offers a simply amazing opportunity to acquire, own, race and show the last Ford GT40 ever built.
