Ken Miles drove this car. So did Phil Hill, Bruce McLaren, and Chris Amon.
It began life as one of the original aluminum monocoque cars built by Abbey Panels in Coventry, England. In 1964 the car was imported to America by the Ford Motor Company to serve as the testbed for their new Le Mans entry: the Ford GT40.
This car raced at Riverside and Sebring, finishing first in the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1966, with Miles and Lloyd Ruby behind the wheel.
These days, the car is maintained and campaigned by Arrowlane Vintage Racing. They bring it out for historic auto events and ride-alongs. On this occasion, the GT40 was at the Sonoma Raceway in California for the Classic Sports Racing Group Charity Challenge. Petrolheads bid on rides in this car, and others, with all the proceeds going to charity. More than $22,000 dollars were raised at Sonoma.
There’s a scene in the movie “Ford vs. Ferrari” where Carroll Shelby takes Henry Ford II for a test drive in a GT40. In the film, after watching Mr. Ford climb into the car, a Shelby crew member says, “It’s about right now the uninitiated have a tendency to soil themselves.” Thankfully, that didn’t happen with this ride…but the thrill is real in this in-car video from Arrowlane.
Ride along for a not-quite-flat-out lap around the Sonoma Raceway in an original Ford GT40.
