VIN: the works / Shelby Ford GT40 Prototype chassis GT 107
History of chassis GT 107
Ford’s debut campaign with the GT40 in 1964 proved a mixed bag; while the new car demonstrated an exceptional turn of speed, it also suffered from embarrassingly poor reliability.
For 1965, a new American subsidiary, Kar Kraft, was established to get things done quickly for the parent company’s various racing activities. GT40 designer, Roy Lunn, was installed as its head.
To assist Kar Kraft and Ford Advanced Vehicles in England (FAV), Shelby American were also brought into the fold. The Californian team would help with some much-needed development and also undertook most of the works racing programme in 1965.
Kar Kraft were given two major tasks: shoehorn a competition version of Ford’s seven-litre Galaxie engine into the GT40 and develop a gearbox capable of handling its massive power and torque.
The seven-litre GT40 was christened Mk2. A pair of Mk2 Prototypes were assembled on chassis GT 106 and GT 107 with a single purpose in mind: win the 1965 Le Mans 24 Hours.
Chassis GT 107 was the car allocated to Chris Amon and Phil Hill. It wasn’t finished until just before the big race whereas GT 106 (for Bruce McLaren and Ken Miles) had undergone a series of tests in the weeks prior.
During the week-long build up to the race, the Mk2 Prototypes stood out as the fastest cars ever seen at Le Mans. GT 107 smashed the existing lap record by an astonishing 11.7 seconds on its way to pole position.
The Ferrari 330 P2 of John Surtees / Ludovico Scarfiotti lined up in second followed by the 4.7-litre Mk1 GT40 of Bob Bondurant / Umberto Maglioli. McLaren / Miles qualified fourth in the sister Mk2.
Amon was first away in the race, but at the end of lap one he had been deposed by team-mate McLaren. During these early stages, the Mk2 GT40s were five seconds a lap faster than anything else and had soon built a substantial lead.
However, when Amon came in to hand over the second placed car to Hill, the Ford was stationary for an extended period. It was rumoured all was not well with the gearbox; Phil Hill rejoined well down the order and was soon back in the pits with the issue unresolved.
Hill did rejoin for another couple of hours and set some very fast times (including that new lap record) but the big Ford was retired soon after 9:30pm with another broken gearbox.
By this time, GT 106 had also retired with its own gearbox woes.
Despite the double failure, Roy Lunn was more convinced than ever that the big seven-litre engine cruising round at 6000rpm was the way to go if Ford were to win at Le Mans.
GT 107 subsequently returned to the US where it served as a test and development mule. It continued this role until March 1967 at which point it was crash tested following the deaths of Walt Hansgen and Ken Miles.
The wrecked remains of GT 107 were most likely destroyed.
Notable History
Shelby American
20/06/1965 WSC Le Mans 24 Hours (C. Amon / P. Hill) DNF (#2) Shelby
Served as a test and development car
03/1967 crash tested and believed destroyed
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Ford - https://www.ford.com
