Details:

Oldtimer Australia is delighted to offer for sale a 2010 build Roaring Forties GT40.

Established in 1994, Roaring Forties has made a name for itself producing road-going replicas of the iconic Ford GT40. Based in Australia, Roaring Forties produces GT40 tributes which are close to the original but on a technically more modern platform.

The car on offer is a tribute to the 1969 Le Mans winning car, chassis #1075. A car which won the 24 hour race twice, first in 1968 driven by Mexican Pedro Rodriguez and Belgian Lucien Bianchi and then again in 1969, but this time driven by Belgian Jacky Ickx and Brit Jackie Oliver. Both times the car was entered into the race by JW Automotive Engineering and carried the famous Gulf Oil colour scheme. The previous two years Ford had won the race with cars powered by the massive 427 cubic inch engines which saw the cars regularly exceeding 200 mph. For 1968 the French officials, fearing for a catastrophic incident on the track, limited the engine to a maximum capacity of 305 cubic inches, which suited the MK 1 GT40s with their 289 engines perfectly. The engine fitted in #1075 was a 289 bored out to 302 cubic inches.

This Roaring Forties GT40 is powered by a similar size engine, a Ford 302 cubic inch small block Windsor.

The body is made entirely out of glass reinforced plastic (GRP). The door handles and fuel filler caps are exact replicas of the original ones. A huge amount of time and effort has been spent building this car. Rivets are generally used to hold the body together, but not on this car. There are 600 individually drilled and tapped holes with 600 cap head stainless steel screws throughout the body.

The car is presented in the traditional Gulf colours of blue and orange. To complete the look, there are various period correct decals on the car. These decals can be removed should the new owner choose to do so. The paint is still in a good condition having retained its strong depth of colour and deep gloss finish. We did notice a small chip in the orange paint on the roof on the edge of the drivers door opening. There are also a few scrapes on the front spoiler.

The billet machined recreation of the Halibrand Wine Glass wheels with tri bar knock off retainers are shod with Kumho Ecsta, size 255/45/17 at the front 275/40/17 at the rear. The front tyres are date stamed 4708 (week 47, 2008) and the rear tyres are date stamped 3608 (week 36, 2008). Whilst the tyres still appear to be in good condition, they should be replaced based on age if the next owner wants to do some serious driving with the car. The original GT40 ran 15 inch wheels fitted, however, the Roaring Forties GT40s are generally fitted with 17 inch wheels with lower profile tryres.

The interior is what one would expect from a race car. It is minimalistic and there are no carpets. The first thing you will notice when you open the door is the positioning of the gear lever. Just like in the original GT40, it is positioned on the right side of the drivers seat. Getting into the car is somewhat of a challenge and once you try you immediately understand why the doors are shaped the way they are! It is not pretty, but the easiest way to get behind the wheel is to stand on the seat and then slide down into the car. The second thing you notice once you are in the seat is that there really is not that much room. That is not really surprising as this is essentially a race car! The steering wheel sits quite low and the footwell is tight. In front of you there is a full suite of gauges to keep an eye on the vital signs. Currently there is a three point seat belt fitted to the car, however, there is a five point seatbelt with the car which can be installed for track days.

The car is fitted with a few creature comforts, including air conditioning, a reversing camera and rear parking sensors.

Under the rear clam is where all the magic happens. That is where youll find the 302 cubic inch engine with GT40 headers and a Morrison throttle body setup. Everything is controlled by a MoTeC M800 Engine management system. The car has two exhaust systems. The current owner chose to have the original exhaust replaced by an aftermarket racing exhaust, which is essentially a straight through system. One is loud and the other very loud! The engine is paired to an Audi 6 speed transaxle with a limited slip differential. The suspension has fully adjustable coil overs on all four corners and to make sure the car stops when needed there are Wilwood discs at front and rear with 6 and 4 piston callipers respectively.

This car was built in 2010 and understood to have been sold new into Adelaide. It then found its way to Melbourne and was sold to the current owner some years ago.

When the car arrived in our showroom on a rainy afternoon we were not brave enough to take it out for a test drive in the wet. But as soon as the weather cleared we jumped behind the wheel for our test drive and photo shoot. To start the car you have to first turn the battery isolator off. Then you turn the ignition on and wait for the dual fuel pumps to supply the engine with the necessary amount of fuel. You then turn the key further to fire up the engine. Like a race car, it is somewhat cranky at first start up, but it soon fires on all 8 cylinders. The one thing that is immediately apparent is that this car is loud! Note to next owner: if you want to maintain a good relationship with your neighbours then you dont want to fire this car up at 6am in the morning. It will wake up the entire neighbourhood.

After warming the engine up we gently drive the car out of our showroom. The car is quite low at the front and you have to be very careful when you exit a driveway and one would have to be wary if and when you encounter speed bumps. Once out on the road you quickly realise you are driving a street legal version of a race car. The car is raw and it was not built for comfort. But then again, you wouldnt expect comfort in a car like this. There is more power than you will ever need under your right foot and given the weight of the car, not surprisingly, this thing is fast. The gear changes are short and direct and they are close to each other. It takes a little bit of practice to make sure you are shifting from second to third and not straight into fifth, however, you master the gear change quickly and once everything warms up it all becomes easier. The steering is precise though the turning circle is not great. That is probably irrelevant as one probably wont often need to be doing a U-turn. The brakes are excellent and pull the car up quickly and in a straight line.

This car has a real presence just standing still, but it has an ever greater presence out on the open road. People will see and hear you coming from a mile away. It is a beast!

We are generally not a fan of tribute cars or replicas, however, we are mightily impressed with this Roaring Forties GT40. The car is well built and great fun to drive.

This Roaring Forties GT40 is currently on full Queensland registration.

Highlights:

- Very well built tribute to the legendary GT40.
- Presented in the traditional Gulf colours livery.
- Powered by a Ford 302 cubic inch Windsor engine.
- Fully sorted, ready to be used and enjoyed.

Price $199,950.


Background:

In 1899 automotive mechanic Henry Ford founded the Detroit Automobile Company with the backing of twelve investors. The first vehicle produced by the company was a gasoline powered delivery truck which was completed in January 1900. However, Henry Ford was a perfectionist which resulted in delays in putting cars on the market and as a result investors lost faith in him. The company floundered and was reorganised into the Henry Ford Company which was founded in November 1901. Internal struggles resulted into Ford leaving the company in 1902 and a year later the company was renamed as the Cadillac Automobile Company. Ford retained the rights to the name when he left the company.

In June 1903 he then founded the Ford Motor Company. Interestingly he was not the first president of the company. Only in 1906 did he become president. A position he held untill 1919 before handing over the position to Edsel Ford.

The company flourished and between 1903 and 1908 the Ford Motor Company produced the models A, B, C, F, K, N, R, and S. In 1908 Ford introduced the Model T which became the worlds first mass produced car. Millions were sold over the next 20 years.

The Model T was superseded by the Model A in 1927. The Model A was the first car to have safety glass in the windscreen.

In 1929 Ford was contracted by the government of the Soviet Union to setup the Gorky Automobile Plant which ended up playing an important role in the industrialisation of the country and played an important role during World War II.

During World War II the US Department of War selected Ford to built the Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber at its Willow Run assembly plant. Interestingly Fords subsidiaries in France and Germany produced military equipment for Germany at the same time.

In 1943 Edsel Ford passed away and for a brief period Henry Ford reassumed the position of president before handing it over to Henry Ford II in September 1945.

After World War II Ford continued building cars and in April 1964, at the New York Worlds Fair they introduced one of their best known cars, the Mustang.

In the early 1960s Henry Ford II had his mind set on having a Ford race at Le Mans. When he got wind that Enzo Ferrari was possibly interested in selling his company, Ford spent a lot of time and money on audits and legal negotiations to put a deal together. Ultimately, Enzo pulled out of the deal which meant Ford had to go it alone. Henry Ford II demanded his racing division find a company that could built him a car that would beat Ferrari at Le Mans.

That partner was found in UK based company Lola Cars Ltd whos mid engined Lola Mk6 served as the basis for what would become the now legendary Ford GT40.

At the end of 1963 a team led by ex-Aston Martin Engineer John Wyer started working on the new car at the Lola Factory in Bromley, UK. The first GT40 raced at the 1964 Nürburgring 1,000 km event but unfortunately did not finish. Three weeks later three cars were entered for the 1964 Le Mans race, but again none of them finished.

1964 was not a very successful season for the GT40 and at the end of the season Ford decided to hire the services of Carroll Shelby to take over control of the project. Shelby managed to turn things around, resulting in a victory at the Daytona 2,000 km race in February 1965 with Ken Miles and Lloyd Ruby behind the wheel. More success followed and in 1966 Henry Ford IIs dream became a reality when the GT40s finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Ford GT40 also won Le Mans in 1967, 1968 and 1969 and as a result became a legend of motorsport. In total 105 Ford GT40s were built.

Like the Jaguar D-Type, the Ford GT40 has been the basis for a number of replicas or tribute cars to be built by different companies in countries around the world.

Designed and built in Melbourne, Australia the Roaring Forties GT40 is one the very best replicas or tribute cars available.

To quote their website: . . . Established in 1994, the Roaring Forties company has had a number of different homes over the past 25 years including the Mornington Peninsula, Thomastown and the current location in Braeside, Victoria.

Devoted to developing the best tribute GT40s available the talented team at RF GT40 work tirelessly to use their combined experience and knowledge to continually improve the delivery of their vehicles, to allow you to drive the dream, and to continue to make RF GT40 the success that it is today.

RF (Roaring Forties) is passionate about providing GT40 construction modules that recreate, to the finest possible degree, the shape, feel and specification of the original vehicle.

We are proud to offer an extremely high degree of authenticity with all cabin and body aspects of our GT40 tribute. The RF GT40 of the Ford GT40 Mk I and Mk 1b certainly looks convincing. However, its not until you get under the skin that you begin to appreciate how painstakingly engineered these cars are.

Most enthusiasts want to own an accurate, but functional, representation of the GT40, at an affordable price. RF GT40 offers just that.