Tags: A.J. Foyt / Bruce McLaren / Dan Gurney / FIA Cobra / Ford GT / Ford GT40 / GTX1 / Holman & Moody / Kar-Kraft / Ken Miles / Le Mans / Neil Ressler / Roy Lunn / Shelby American / Shelby Cobra

ROY LUNN: GODFATHER OF THE FORD GT40!

- Minggu, 27 Desember 2015 No Comments

Ford GT & Cobra owners, racers and Roy Lunn’s friends and family gathered at the Lakewood Ranch Golf & Country Club in Sarasota, FL to celebrate the legendary engineer and designer, known as the Godfather of the GT40. His accomplishments led to Ford’s domination of international sports car racing in the mid-late-1960s.

 On June 19th, 2016, racing enthusiasts, friends of the Blue Oval, automotive journalists and historians, and the Ford Motor Company, will celebrate the 50th anniversary of what is probably the most iconic event in auto racing history. It was on June 19th, 1966, when three GT40 Mark II-As, raced by Bruce McLaren & Chris Amon, Ken Miles & Denny Hulme and Ronnie Bucknum & Dick Hutcherson crossed the finish line, respectively - One-Two-Three - to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans and change the face of International sports car racing.



“I want to congratulate you on your creative role in the historic Ford victory at Le Mans and winning the World GT Championship,” Don Frey, Ford vice-president and general manager, in a letter to Roy Lunn, (above with Neil Ressler and with FIA Cobra), dated June 28, 1966.

It was the first-ever Overall win for an American carmaker, above, and the first of four consecutive wins of the world’s most prestigious race. In 1967 a Mark IV J-6, driven by Dan Gurney & A.J. Foyt, took the win and, in 1968 and 1969, a singular early GT40, raced by Pedro Rodriguez & Lucian Bianchi and Jackie Ickx & Jackie Oliver, respectively, made it three and four in a row. For the first time, America and Ford had dominated International road racing.



Ford’s GT40, Mark IIs and Mark IV were designed, engineered and developed under Roy Lunn’s direction at Ford’s Skunk Works, Kar-Kraft. Lunn was manager of the Advanced Concepts Group. Roy Lunn with first big-block (427) GT40 MK II in 1965 at Ford's Dearborn Proving Ground, below.

Martyn Schorr, Chronicles Editor, Ford GT owner and author of FORD TOTAL PERFORMANCE, which includes details of Roy Lunn’s career at Ford and Kar-Kraft and the history of the GT40, organized the Tribute.

“Not only do I feel appreciative and honored today to share this occasion with my wife Jeannie and my family, but also overwhelmed by the incredible display of power outside: Ford GTs and Cobras. It really is a Show of Force and I’m so happy to be a part of it,” said Roy, right.



Neil Ressler, a retired Ford engineer and vice-resident and former head of Advanced Vehicle Technology, attended with his Ford GT. He was chairman of Jaguar Racing and Cosworth Racing in 1999 and involved in the mid-engined GN34 Concept sports car which evolved into the 2005-2006 Ford GT, the spiritual successor to the GT40. He retired in 2001 after 34 years and returned to be join the Ford GT Team.



“I wasn’t going to miss this wonderful opportunity to meet Mr. Lunn, and relive some of those glory days of winning at Le Mans,” said Neil below, with Roy Lunn.

Roy Lunn will be 91 years old in April and has started working on his
fourth book about the environment, sustainability and future cars. “I’m
looking forward to finishing my new book and celebrating the 50th
anniversary of the win at Le Mans with my family and friends on June
19th next year.” 

The Show Of Force included nine Ford GTs, including a rare GTX1 and CP4 (Confirmation Prototype 4), the seventh prototype built. Nine Cobras, including a vintage FIA Cobra built by AC Cars, rounded out the loud and colorful field!

PHOTOS: Howard Mintz, Gary Jean, Ford & Roy Lunn Archives.

Tags: Carroll Shelby / Cobra Daytona Coupe / Endurance Racing / FORD TOTAL PERFORMANCE / Goodwood / Martyn Schorr / Peter Brock / Phil Spector / Shelby Cobra / Shelby Daytona Coupe / Simeone Foundation Museum

SHELBY DAYTONA COUPE: 2015 GOODWOOD REVIVAL!

- Senin, 31 Agustus 2015 No Comments

One of the world’s rarest Cobras, CSX2287, will 'cross the pond 'next month for the prestigious Goodwood Revival.

 The Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum’s ‘64 Shelby Daytona Coupe will  be featured at the Goodwood Revival from September 11-13 2015. This annual festival is a celebration of historic motor racing which attracts over 150,000 spectators. It features priceless racing cars displayed in historically accurate themed dioramas, with the 50th anniversary of the Daytona Coupe as this year’s theme.



The 2015 Goodwood Revival is the first trip to Europe for CSX2287 since its final race in the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans. For the first time in many years, it will be reunited with all five other Daytona Coupes. Designed by Peter Brock, it was built in 1964-‘65 by Shelby American Inc. for international competition, in 1965 it became the first American-built car to win the World Championship by defeating the Ferrari team.

The first or prototype coupe was CSX2287 (the actual second chassis), scratch built at Shelby’s Venice, CA facility with an aluminum body crafted by California Metal Shaping in Los Angeles. It was the first built, first raced, and the only coupe bodied in the U.S. Five other Cobra chassis earmarked for coupe production were shipped to Carrozzeria Grand Sport in Modena, Italy to be bodied.



It competed in 8 races and, at the conclusion of the 1965 season, was retired from competition. It made one final appearance at a Goodyear tire testing session at the Bonneville Salt Flats in November 1965 where it set 25 land speed records.





The car was briefly used on the streets of Hollywood in the late-1960s by music impresario Phil Spector, and then it disappeared for over 30 years. In 2001 the car was rediscovered and joined the collection of Dr. Frederick A. Simeone, and in 2008 it became a centerpiece of Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum in Philadelphia.



In 2014, CSX2287 was the first car named to the Historic Vehicle Association’s National Historic Vehicle Register, thus becoming the first car recognized by the U.S. Department of the Interior under their U.S. Heritage Documentation Standards. It also won the 2014 International Historic Motoring Awards’ “Car of the Year” as voted on by the public, thus becoming the first American car to ever win the award.

Located in Philadelphia, PA, the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum is one of the world’s greatest collections of racing sports cars. Through its theme, “The Spirit of Competition”, it celebrates the history and evolution of these magnificent machines. Assembled over 50 years by Dr. Frederick Simeone, the Museum contains over 65 historically significant cars including Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Bugatti, Mercedes, Jaguar, Bentley, Porsche, Aston Martin, Corvette, Ford and more. The Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization. For more information please visit http://www.simeonemuseum.org



Shelby Daytona Coupe CSX2287 is featured in FORD TOTAL PERFORMANCE, Ford’s Legendary High-Performance Street and Race Cars, by Martyn L. Schorr, http://www.amazon.com/Ford-Total-Performance-Complete-High-Performance/dp/0760348588/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1429561181&sr=1-1&keywords=Ford+Total+Performance%2C+martyn+Schorr

Tags: Allard / D-Type / Endurance Racing / Ford GT40 / Jaguar Lightweight E-Type / Le Mans / Le Mans Legend / Maserati / Nurburgring / Porsche racing / Shelby Cobra / Twelve Hours of Sebring

FORD GT40s: LEGENDS OF LE MANS!

- Jumat, 22 Mei 2015 No Comments

Seven GT40s are amongst legendary racecars lining up for this year’s 

Le Mans Legend event.

The extended age range for this year’s Le Mans Legend race on Saturday June 13th has allowed seven Ford GT40s to join the spectacular historic grid that will race on the full Le Mans circuit. It all happens just a few hours before the start of the modern 24-Hour endurance race. 61 iconic cars, dating from 1949 to 1968 and representing 26 different marques, will take to the track in an outstanding live-action showcase covering two decades of motor racing history. 14 of the cars entered actually raced at Le Mans in period, and the remainder of the grid boasts their own impressive competition histories.

The red GT40 of U.S. drivers Philippe Mulacek and Alain Vinson took part in the 1967 Le Mans 24-Hour, Marc Doncieux’s GT40 raced there in 1966, and Claude Nahum/Bernard Thuner’s Mk 1 in 1968, with Eric Lidell replacing the car’s regular driver that season David Piper to share with Mike Salmon. Bernard is the son of Jean Jacques Thuner, a four-times competitor in the Le Mans 24-Hour.



The remarkable seven-GT40 entry also includes the ex-Scuderia Bear/Essex Wire Corporation ‘65 Mk1 which finished 3rd in the 1966 Sebring 12 Hours (Skip Scott/Peter Revson) and was put out of the 1966 Le Mans 24 Hours when struck by a works-entry GT40 during qualifying.  Present-day renowned GT3 and historic racer Andrew Smith will share the car with James Cottingham.

Another newcomer that the extended age range admits to the Le Mans Legend grid is the Alpine-Renault A220 of French drivers Sylvain Stepak and Jean Luc Blanchemain. This car was standing 5th overall at Le Mans in 1968 driven by Mauro Bianchi and Patrick Depailler before brake failure caused it to crash with Bianchi at the wheel. This was the race at which Alpine and Michelin revolutionized racing with the first use of “slick” tires. Rainer Becker’s Porsche 910 joins the A220 and the seven GT40s in what promises to be a stunning class battle. Originally owned and raced by Bill Bradley, with Vic Elford and Tony Dean, this car finished 1st in class and 5th overall at Hockenheim in 1968 and 5th overall in the 1969 1000-km Nurburgring.



Sam Thomas/Andy Dee-Crowne’s Allard J2X was a 1952 Le Mans competitor, while Paul Griffin/Gillian Carr’s Connaught ALSR raced there in 1955.  Class competition for the Allard comes from another of the same marque – Touring Car driver Patrick Watts will be out in a J2. The Connaught faces sporting competition for class honors from a veteran of the 1956 Le Mans – the beautiful Panhard Monopole X86 of François Cointreau - and from former England Rugby, Captain David Cooke, in the yellow Lotus 11 Le Mans he shares with Neil Twyman.



The Austin-Healey 3000 that Karsten Le Blanc shares with Christiaen van Lanschot raced at Le Mans in 1960, 1961 and 1962. Known by most people simply by its registration number DD 300, it was a works entry in 1960, driven by Jack Sears and Peter Riley. It was a privateer entry in 1961 and 1962.  It’s in the same class as Canadian Barrie Baxter’s beautiful Maserati 151/154, originally seen out at Le Mans in 1962 and then again in 1963 and 1964. In 1962 the Healey would have fought against the ‘56 Morgan Plus 4 Supersports that Keith Ahlers and Billy Bellinger will drive this year and Till Bechtolscheimer’s Tojeiro EE Buick (having sported a Climax engine in period).



Competition promises to be fierce across all classes, with lively action expected in the GT Cars 1960-1965 under 2000 from the Lotus Elan of 12-times Le Mans racer and 1981 British Sports Car Champion John Sheldon. The bright yellow Mini Marcos GT driven by Josh Sadler and veteran racer Barrie Williams should give John a good run for his money and provide huge entertainment for spectators. And competition will also come from Afschin Fatemi’s very rare Porsche 904/8, one of two prototypes fitted by with an eight-cylinder engine by the factory for Le Mans in 1964, from another veteran of that 1964 race, the Alfa Romeo TZ1 driven this year by Holly Mason-Franchitti.

With other entries including Mercedes 300SL Gullwings, C and D-type Jaguars, Aston Martin DB2 Lightweight Le Mans, Shelby Cobras and Lightweight E-types, the Le Mans Legend is something of a beauty show as well – though very definitely a seriously hard-fought race rather than a parade. 



Duncan Wiltshire, Chairman of Le Mans Legend organizers Motor Racing Legends, said: “Extending the entry dates has allowed us to introduce a highly exciting new aspect to the race. I can’t wait to see seven GT40s lining up on the grid! Cars and drivers are traveling from all over the world to take part, and the result should be an astounding 45 minutes of historic motorsport that transports all who are lucky enough to witness or take part in it back through the decades.”



For further information on the 2015 Le Mans Legend race, please visit www.motorracinglegends.com