1965 Ford GT Competition Prototype Roadster

by Michael Satterfield

The Ford GT40 is one of the most iconic and legendary cars ever to compete in motorsports and the first American car to beat the Europeans at the Circuit de la Sarthe. This car chassis number GT/109 is one of just five roadsters built by Ford Advanced Vehicles in the UK, and only one of the two surviving examples. What makes this one of two cars even rarer is that it is the only Ford GT Roadster with Le Mans racing history.

Entered in Le Mans in 1965 GT/109 was driven by Maurice Trintignant and Guy Ligier. The car would later be used as a development car for the J-Car at Kar Craft, as well as a testbed for a number of new engine and brake applications. The car was sold to famous Hollywood Hot Rodder Dean Jeffries who owned it up until his passing in 2013. Jeffries was known as the man who painted Little Bastard on James Dean's Porsche, Painted and Re-Painted Carroll Shelby's first Cobra so they could trick the magazines into thinking he had more than one car, and created iconic vehicles for TV like The Black Beauty from the Green Hornet and the futuristic vehicles from Logans Run.

The car was restored by Harley Cluxton III to Concours standards in the original Le Mans livery and took 2nd in Class at the 2016 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. The car is currently powered by a HiPo 289 from Shelby American which was a gift from Carroll Shelby to Jeffries, however, the Ford 4-Cam Indy engine is included with the car which is being auctioned at January's Mecum Auction in Kissimmee, Florida.

For more on the car check out the official listing on Mecum.com