VIN: the Ford USA Ford GT40 Mk1 Promo Car chassis P/1059
/ Ben Tyer
HISTORY OF CHASSIS P/1059
Ford Advanced Vehicles in Slough manufactured 31 Mk1 GT40 road cars and many were shipped out to the USA for promotional use.
A batch of seven were sent to Dearborn in December 1966, one of which was chassis P/1059.
Painted Opalescent Maroon, P/1059 was equipped with a black leather interior, 289 High Performance engine on Weber carburettors and Borrani wire wheels.
The other six cars in the group (P/1057, P/1058, P/1064, P/1065, P/1066 and P/1067) were finished to a similar specification, but with different exterior colours. They were pictured together in a series of photographs taken on 21st December 1966, prior to being flown out to the USA from Heathrow airport.
The tour of dealers and shows was to promote Ford’s victory in the 1966 Le Mans 24 Hours.
P/1059 was allocated to Shelby American for display at their outlets up and down the country. To that end, it was re-painted white with blue centre stripes soon after arriving in the US.
In September 1967, P/1059 was sold for $8500 to Edward Schoenherr who owned Starck Hickey Ford in Royal Oak, Michigan. Schoenherr had the car registered to his company and kept it for the next six years.
Well known GT40 enthusiast, Herbert Wetanson, from Long Island, New York, purchased P/1059 in September 1973.
One of half a dozen GT40s Wetanson owned, the car was almost immediately advertised in Autoweek magazine. The description read: “2305 miles; flawless; never raced; complete ground-up restoration; custom pearl white paint by George Busti with blue stripes and red pinstripes”.
It was acquired that December by Dr. Jack Frost of St. Donatus, Iowa, who kept the car until his death in 2003. By this time, P/1059 had still only covered circa 4500 miles.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Duncan Hamilton ROFGO - https://www.dhrofgo.com/ & Ford - https://www.ford.com
Famously, Ford’s attempt to create a softer, more commercially appealing iteration of the GT40 proved a commercial flop; having hoped to shift a run of at least 20 units, just seven copies of…
Having created one of the 1980’s wildest homologation specials with the Sierra RS Cosworth, Ford took a similar approach when it came to a MkV Escort conceived for top flight rallying. Unveiled in…
Over the course of five weeks during April and May of 1970, members of the Royal Automobile Club and Motor Sports Association in the UK organised a high profile marathon that travelled a 16,000…
To replace the normally aspirated RS1600i which had failed to set the world alight in Group A competition, Ford created its first forced induction Escort for public consumption: the RS Turbo.
In September 1965, Ford signed an agreement with Hertz Rental to supply 1000 special copies of the Shelby Mustang GT350. The resultant GT350H would be available to Hertz Sports Club members for…
Launched in August 1965 for the 1966 model year, the Bronco was conceived as Ford’s offering for a Sport Utility Vehicle market that was rapidly beginning to gain popularity. Using a box-section body…
To pave the way for an attack on the SCCA B Production Championship, Ford commissioned Shelby to create the GT350 Mustang, at least 100 of which would have to be manufactured in order to…
Like most manufacturers that created Group B homologation specials, Ford found it very difficult to sell the RS200 when new. Therefore, to broaden its appeal, between 1987 and 1989 (after…
Relive one of the most dramatic chapters in Daytona endurance racing with this classic film from the 1969 24 Hours of Daytona. Porsche was widely expected to dominate again, but in a stunning turn of events the Sunoco-liveried Lola T70 Mk.3B GT Chevrolet took overall victory.
When BMW homologated its radical ‘Batmobile’ aero kit for the 3.0 CSL mid way through 1973, the balance of power in Group 2 Touring Car racing swung inexorably towards the Munich manufacturer.
Unlike some of its other iconic performance models such as the Mustang and RS line of European specials which were more or less ever present, Ford didn’t get serious about building a replacement…
Having thundered around Le Mans with a pair of experimental GT40s running enormous seven-litre engines in 1965, Ford became convinced big block motors were the route to success at ultra high…
In 1962, the North American Automobile Manufacturers Association lifted its ban on US car builders having any motor sport involvement. Imposed during 1957 as a response to the 1955 Le Mans…
During the last three decades of the 20th century, the closest Ford came to creating a successor to its four-time Le Mans-winning GT of the 1960s was the RS200: a purpose-built rally special…
Ford’s Total Performance programme of the 1960s spawned some legendary machinery of which the four-time Le Mans winning GT40 is particularly revered. The company’s engines were also…
Ford wasn’t able to create the all-wheel drive Sierra Cosworth that it wanted, something in the Audi Quattro mould, until the MT75 gearbox came on stream in late 1988. Having initially used the…
In October 1966, John Wyer was visiting New York on business when he took a call from Gulf Oil Executive Vice President, Grady Davis. The two men had met for the first time at the Sebring 12 Hours…
Although Ford dealers had expressed concern about their ability to sell the 5000 Sierra RS Cosworths required to get the car homologated into the FIA’s Group A category, customers couldn’t…
The newly formed BMW Motorsport operation with its big budget CSL arrived on the 1973 Touring Car scene with one simple aim: to de-throne the works Ford squad that had reined supreme with its…
When the World Rally Championship switched from Group A to WRC regulations for the 1997 season, one of the older generation cars to get a new lease of life was Ford’s Escort RS Cosworth. In…
If you didn’t get enough from our recent article on the Capri Mk3 Werks Turbo, here’s a bit more Zakspeed Ford goodness: Jorg van Ommen’s iconic Denim-backed Group 4 Mk2 Escort from the…
In light of the Mustang’s massive commercial success, Ford of Europe decided to create a scaled down version better suited to the Old World. The resultant Capri was launched at the Brussels…
Chassis P/1018 was one of two Mk1 GT40s built to race trim for promotional use. It was commissioned by Ford on behalf of Carroll Shelby whose firm had undertaken much development…
After a 34 year production run that had seen several million cars built across six different generations, Ford elected to kill off its eponymous Escort in favour of an all-new model: the Focus.
Having replaced the sixth generation Escort with the Focus in 1998, Ford made its customers wait until late 2002 until deliveries of an RS-badged version began. Very much inspired by Ford’s World…
Famously, in order to secure the fabled YBB motor for its Sierra RS Cosworth, Ford had to place an order for 15,000 engines which was three times the number needed to qualify for Group A…
Of the many collectable Fords heading to auction this spring, undoubtedly one of the most interesting is a Sierra RS Cosworth which will be going under the hammer during Iconic Auctioneers’…
During the GT40’s early life as a true Prototype-class racing car, Ford built a small batch of Roadsters for use in some of 1965’s biggest races. One such example was chassis GT/109 which is heading to…
Having long since ranked among the elite manufacturers in top flight rallying thanks primarily to high performance iterations of the Mk1 and Mk2 Escort, Ford’s European arm took a sabbatical after…
After the enormously successful GT programme that ultimately yielded four back-to-back Le Mans wins and a plethora of other significant victories, Ford was generally happy to offer its customers…