Back in the 1960s, if you wanted to race in the GT class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, you had to build at least 25 road-going versions of your race car. That was a pretty great rule because it gave the world cars like this, the Ford GT40 Mk I street car. This 1966 example will be auctioned at Gooding & Co.’s Amelia Island event next month, where it’s expected to fetch over $3 million.
Ford built 31 GT40 Mk I street cars, seven of which were used as dealer promotional cars. This was one of those dealer cars until it was sold to a man in Texas in 1967. From there, it changed hands many times and underwent many repaints, although it was only driven sparsely. It was fully restored in 2009 and returned to its stunning original color of Azure Blue.
As it sits right now, this GT40 has a little over 3000 miles, which seems like a bit of a shame. I certainly hope the next owner puts some miles on it, but considering its tremendous value, it’s understandable why they wouldn’t.
Its 289-cubic-inch V-8 reportedly produces 390 horsepower and looks stunning with quad twin-choke Weber carburetors and the GT40’s iconic headers. Power is sent to a five-speed ZF transaxle and four-wheel disc brakes help bring this car to a stop.
Based on the new Ford GT’s reported cost of $400,000, you could have eight of them for the price of this GT40, but the older car is a certifiable legend. It’s also lot cheaper than a Ferrari 250 GTO, and unlike the GT40, the GTO never won Le Mans outright.
This story originally appeared on Road & Track.
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