Henry Ford II’s impassioned drive to bring the company racing glory at Le Mans had a less than stellar beginning, but with four victories at the prestigious 24 hour race and plenty more impressive victories in races around the world, the Ford GT40 has certainly gone into the history books as one of the most significant and successful racing cars of them all. Almost every GT40 to have seen the tack has an enviable motorsports pedigree, but some are more important than others. The Le Mans-winning cars are probably the most celebrated, and one in particular has become a patriotic symbol, the representation of a great moment of American perseverance and ingenuity.
One of the racing cars most closely associated with American racing legend Dan Gurney is the Ford Mark IV chassis J-5 that he and A.J. Foyt took to a historic victory at the 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans. Gurney will get a chance to become even more familiar with the car he helped make famous when his All-American Racers shop in California takes possession of the car and the responsibility for its conservation on behalf of The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn.
