1967 Ford GT40 Mk IV Comes to Project Motor Racing

June 30, 2026

When Ford Went Full Send

The 1967 Ford GT40 Mk IV exists because Henry Ford II had a problem. A red one. Kinda like Mr Shelby had a couple of years earlier.

The story is now motorsport folklore: Ford tried to buy its way into Maranello, the deal collapsed, and Dearborn responded in the calm, measured way large corporations usually do when emotionally wounded.

By spending an absurd amount of money to ensure justice was served.

In 1966, Ford did exactly that. The GT40 Mk II finished first, second, and third at La Sarthe, a full Detroit-sized statement delivered at 200 mph.

Job done? Not even close.

Because the Mk II still carried the bones of the British-born GT40 programme. And for 1967, Detroit wanted something more: they wanted to stamp “Made in America” across the whole argument.

The All-American Answer

For 1967, Ford returned to La Sarthe with the GT40 Mk IV. Though calling it a GT40 almost undersells it. The Mk IV was not an evolution of the British-developed GT40 programme. This was a very different animal altogether.

It was designed, developed and built in the United States by Ford/Kar-Kraft/Shelby, and featured a lightweight aluminium honeycomb chassis, longer, cleaner bodywork shaped for high-speed work, and—sitting behind the driver’s head—the kind of engine Ford knew was the solution to all of life’s problems: a Ford 7L V8.

Subtle? Nope. Effective? Oh yes.

This was American engineering with its sleeves rolled up, an oily spanner in one meaty hand and a grudge in the other. The Mk IV was big, fast and—ironically—red. It was also built for one job: go to France and make sure nobody in Maranello would ever forget those 24 hours in June of 1967.

Gurney, Foyt, and Champagne

Ford did not arrive quietly either. Four new Mk IVs came to La Sarthe, backed by a wider GT40 armada. But when the flag fell, the car that mattered most wore number 1 on the nose—just in case anyone had any doubts about legacy or ambition. At the wheel were American legends Dan Gurney and A.J. Foyt, which was a bit like asking two lions to share their breakfast burrito.

Gurney was already one of the sharpest, most technically minded drivers in the world. So beloved that Car and Driver had run a “Dan Gurney for President” campaign back in 1964.

Foyt, meanwhile, was Foyt: fast, tough, and not exactly the kind of man who needed a pep talk before climbing into a 7L prototype and pointing it down the Mulsanne at midnight.

Together, they dominated.

The Mk IVs had pace from the start, but it was the red #1 car of Gurney and Foyt that did the part that mattered most: it lasted, led, and won.

The red cars from Maranello fought hard and finished second and third, but by then, the winning Ford was miles up the road. Literally. Gurney and Foyt beat the second-place finisher by a margin large enough to make the stopwatch blush.

Humiliation enough? Well not quite. There was still the podium ceremony.

That’s when Gurney, instead of politely accepting the champagne, shook the bottle and sprayed it over the crowd, creating a victory celebration that motorsport has been copying ever since.

Made in America never got better: this remains the only all-American overall victory in Le Mans history. American drivers, American team, American-built car, American engine, American tyres.

Henry Ford II—Hank the Deuce—could now rest easy. Vengeance had been truly served.

In Project Motor Racing, the 1967 Ford GT40 Mk IV brings that whole mood with it. But don’t imagine this is a simple car to drive. The Mk IV is fast, physical, and demanding.

The ’60s prototypes may look heroic in photographs, but they become considerably more educational when you’re the one trying to slow them down. Because back then, brakes were treated as a polite suggestion that got in the way of what racing was supposed to be about: speed.

Get it right and it feels magnificent. Get it wrong and it reminds you that 1960s endurance racing was basically aerospace engineering with fire and fear.

The 1967 Ford GT40 Mk IV was America’s full stop at the end of the Maranello argument.

Yours to drive as part of the GT Icons Pack. Enjoy.

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