The Last Ford GT40 Just Sold at Auction for Nearly $3.5 Million

The final version of the Le Mans-winning American race car featured in “Ford v Ferrari” bested its pre-auction estimates by a mile.

Gooding & Co./Matt Howell

Ford v Ferrari left many gearheads with an insatiable desire to experience the all-American power that Christian Bale’s Ken Miles felt during his legendary run at 24 Hours of Le Mans. 

One wealthy buyer gets to do just that after buying the final, street-legal version the Ford GT40 for a whopping $3.5 million. 

Thanks to the 2019 movie chronicling Carroll Shelby and Miles’ battle to beat Ferrari at the famous endurance race, many are aware that the Ford GT40 Mk II notched back-to-back wins at Le Mans in 1966 and 1967. 

But as the automotive auction house notes, a lesser known aspect of the race car’s program involved also included production of a tamer, street-legal version dubbed the Mk III to serve as Ford’s flagship. 

Gooding & Co./Matt Howell

In late 1966, 20 late-production GT40 chassis were commissioned, but only seven were completed and the project was scrapped. The remaining 13 went into storage, and the car featured here happens to be built on chassis No. P/1085, the last GT40 chassis to be numbered in production sequence. 

Gooding & Company has more on its detailed provenance: 

Next, Guthrie and his mechanic, George Thornton, equipped P/1085 as a rolling chassis and shipped it out to Jackson, accompanied by GT40 P/1009, originally the ex-Alan Mann Racing GT40 chassis XGT-2. Both P/1085 and P/1009 would remain with Jackson for the next 37 years, with P/1085 stripped to a bare chassis and placed on a trolley frame.

Gooding & Co./Matt Howell

During his ownership, Mr. Jackson accumulated a treasure trove of parts and components for an anticipated buildup of P/1085, which was never completed at that time, while P/1009 was rarely, if ever, driven. Ronnie Spain visited Mr. Jackson and photographed and documented P/1085 and P/1009 for the first time in 1990.

After being purchased from Ford Advance Parts in 1969, P/1085 changed hands several times until 2007, when a buyer shipped the it to UK-based restorer  Ian Jones’ Racing Fabrications for a full, period-correct buildup. 

Under the hood is the original 1968 5.0-liter competition-spec V8 that sends 479 horsepower at 6.500 revs to the a ZF five-speed transmission. 

Everything is right down to the spares packages, which includes two sets of wheels, front and rear body panels, doors, and a set of original GT40 magnesium wheels.

Gooding & Co./Matt Howell

Gooding & Company had originally estimated that the build would fetch a maximum of just over $3 million at its recent Geared Online auction, so kudos to whoever ponied up the extra $500,000 to lay claim to iconic automobile.  

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