Ford had a major dilemma. They won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966 with a 1,2,3 finish and successfully set down the Ferrari domination, but what do they do for 1967? The GT40 MkII was already an aged design in racing, being 2-3 years old, if you count the 1963 Lola GT a good deal of the design was based on. Ford was already working up their “J” car as the next step to continue the Total Performance strategy. A new chassis design of expanded honeycomb aluminum was stronger, but turned out to be a bit heavier than expected, requiring more power out of the big block 427 engine used the year before. The project took its toll and lead to the death of Ken Miles, Ford’s top test driver in the GT40 program. Driver error was ruled out, but the cause of the catastrophic failure of the test car was never determined. Going back to the design table, Ford worked out every wrinkle, including two body redesigns that eliminated the “manta” nose and then the “breadbox” rear sections for the familiar rounded shapes at the front and the contoured rear panels that allowed for better stability at high speeds. This redesigned version is beautifully captured by AFX in their Collector Series. We get three very detailed bodies with accurate racing liveries from the 1967 season. The Mega G+ 1.5 Chassis, the shorter version, is powering these little beasts and will give you hours of competitive racing on your home track or local club.
AFX Cat #22025 – 1967 Ford GT40 Mk IV (J-4) Yellow/Black #1
This MK IV debuted at Sebring in April of 1967, where it led from the start and took victory with Bruce McLaren and Mario Andretti behind the wheel. J-4 had been kept in the United States and was used for testing at Daytona before being put into storage. It was sold to the first of several private owners in 1970.
AFX Cat # 22042 – 1967 Ford GT40 Mk IV (J-5) Red/White #1
This Mark IV was the 1967 winner of Le Mans with Dan Gurney and A.J. Foyt sharing the driving duties. The magnesium wheels were specially cast for the Mk. IV, held on with large three-eared knockoffs. Those on the left side of the car are anodized red, the right side blue.
AFX Cat # 22053 1967 Ford GT40 Mk IV (J-7) Bronze/White #3
Ford split their entries for the 1967 Le Mans between Shelby American (they received cars, J-5 and J-6) and Holman-Moody (the H-M cars were J-7 and J-8) Mario Andretti and Lucien Bianchi, had shared driving duties in a GT40 at Le Mans the previous year and were together again for ‘67. But after a brake failure in the early morning hours of the race after a pit stop (a brake pad was put on backwards), Andretti spun the car into the barriers of the Esses, ending his chances for a podium finish.
The Ford Mk. IV has a perfect record in racing. It won every race in which it was entered. Although it was only two events in 1967, Sebring and Le Mans. Two Mk. IVs ran at Sebring, while four Mk. IVs (two for Holman-Moody, two for Shelby American) ran at Le Mans. Now is your chance to capture that excitement and competition from 1967 on your race track. These releases from AFX are available at your favorite hobby shop or on-line web store today.