VIN: the Ford USA Ford GT40 Promo Car chassis P/1058
History of chassis P/1058
Chassis P/1058 was one of 31 Mk1 GT40 road cars built.
Seven of these were constructed in November and December of 1966 and then shipped out to the Ford Motor Company headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan. They were all destined for promotional use at dealers and shows around North America following Ford’s victory at the 1966 Le Mans 24 Hours.
Painted Carmen Red with a black leather interior, P/1058 was equipped with the 289 High Performance engine, Weber carburettors and Borrani wire wheels.
Along with the other six GT40s in the batch (P/1057, P/1059, P/1064, P/1065, P/1066 and P/1067), P/1058 was photographed at the Ford Advanced Vehicles factory in Slough, England, on 21st December 1966.
The seven cars were then taken to Heathrow airport and flown out to the USA.
As part of its promotional duty, P/1058 toured Ford dealerships around Milwaukee and the North Eastern sales district.
In December 1967, it was sold to Al Grillo Ford in Lynn, Massachusetts, and entrusted to the care of Shelby American Regional Representative, Ed Casey, who used the car as a demonstrator at promotional events on the East Coast.
P/1058 was acquired by its first private owner, David Carroll of Lexington, Massachusetts, in the autumn of 1968. During Carroll’s brief tenure, the car was driven at Lime Rock where it was used to record the audio for a Gulf Oil commercial.
In late 1969, Carroll sold P/1058 to noted racing driver, John ‘Skip’ Barber, of Carlisle, Massachusetts. Barber went on to establish the famous Skip Barber Racing School.
Barber also only kept the GT40 for a very brief period. In 1970 he sold it to Harvey Siegel of New York, with whom it remained for the next 40 years.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Ford - https://www.ford.com
