Ultimate Ford GT40 – The Definitive History (Volume 1)

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Limited to 750 copies

The forthcoming Volumes 2, 3 and 4 document the chronological history of the Ford GT40 from its roots in the early 1960s, through the challenges of its formative racing career and the car’s significant evolution, which resulted in four consecutive Le Mans 24 Hours victories. The in-depth story is told with the aid of a wealth of previously unpublished documentation and photographs from the Ford Archive and beyond, allowing fresh analysis of many aspects of the legendary saga of the car. Researched and written by a team of the world’s foremost GT40 authorities, including Mark Cole, Graham Endeacott, John S Allen and Mike Teske, the four volumes will provide the ultimate insight into the iconic Ford, and a must-have reference work for all GT40 owners and enthusiasts.

Volume 1 by Ronnie Spain

The Ultimate Ford GT40 project has proved to be a mammoth undertaking. This landmark work will comprise four volumes, which will build into a unique in-depth study of the GT40, with the first volume planned for publication in December 2024. From its roots in the early 1960s through the challenges of its formative racing career, to four consecutive Le Mans 24 Hours victories, every aspect of the GT40 and its remarkable history will be analysed and documented.

Porter Press International has been fortunate in assembling a team of the world’s foremost expert authors and GT40 specialists, including Ronnie Spain, Mark Cole, John S Allen, Graham Endeacott and Mike Teske, who are collaborating to bring their combined knowledge and experience of these cars to the project.

Volume 1, written by Ronnie Spain, provides chassis records and photos for every GT40 built, including the prototypes, roadsters, production GT40s and Mark IIs, Mark IIIs, Alan Mann cars, Mirages, J-cars and Mark IVs, in addition to details of seven original unnumbered ‘spare’ chassis. This book provides extended and updated coverage to the individual chassis histories provided in Ronnie’s original book, published in the late 1980s, here presented in a lavish package comprising 576 pages and over 1,300 photographs.

Each chassis entry begins with outline details of the chassis/car when built new, along with a table showing the ownership history. The full timeline is then provided, illustrated with both colour and black-and-white photographs. For chassis with competition history, a comprehensive results table is provided detailing every period event in which the car competed, listing the car’s race number, driver(s), qualifying and race results, and notes.

The information presented in this book is the result of over 46 years of research by the author – his obsession with the GT40 beginning in 1978. In that time, he has amassed a vast archive of information and photographs relating to the cars, and has become the world’s foremost expert on the cars, called upon by the GT40 community and prospective purchasers to confirm the identity of any GT40, using his forensic approach and incomparable archive records.

The ultimate reference source for any GT40 enthusiast or owner, this much-anticipated book paves the way for three subsequent volumes telling the chronological history of the GT40. These volumes will feature a wealth of previously unpublished documentation and photographs from the Ford Archive, in addition to information from sources such as Shelby American, Holman-Moody, JW Automotive and FAV, and a stunning selection of imagery from previously untapped sources. The new information unearthed allows the writing team to throw new light on many of the mysteries and controversies surrounding these revered cars.

Together, the four volumes will provide the most detailed and comprehensive study of the cars’ history ever undertaken – the ultimate work on the GT40.

• An in-depth look at every one of the vehicles in the James Bond movies.
• Written by the world’s leading authority on the GT40.
• Full chronological chassis records and photographs for every GT40.
• Competition history and results tables for each chassis used in period competition.
• Over 1,300 colour and black-and-white photographs, many showing unique identifying features of individual chassis.
• The result of over 46 years of GT40 research by the author.
• Large format, lavish production.
• The definitive record of each and every original GT40 built.

The Author

Ronnie Spain, a lorry driver by profession, began his obsession with GT40s in the late seventies, at a time when they were just old cars lying around, often without chassis plates, and referred to according to their history – for example: ‘The Hawkins car’ (AM GT2); ‘The Filipinetti car’ (1033); or ‘The seven-liter car’ (1012, at that time being rebuilt). As a self-confessed ‘data junkie’, he took an interest in identifying the cars and in the end became the individual on Earth who has seen more GT40s than anybody else – in fact, all of the survivors except five, those being, according to Ronnie, 1038, 1052, 1068, M3/1105 and AM GT-1, and he says he has not given up on ticking those off his list too! The GT40 community has welcomed Ronnie, sometimes affectionately calling him ‘a nuisance’, because he has asked so many questions and loved things being accurate and correct. In doing this, he has gained a lot of supporting friends, and also some very determined enemies when he wouldn’t simply accept their ‘stories’ and unhesitatingly fought back against their false rewritings of history. More importantly for history, he has amassed an immense documentation and photo archive, and his forensic approach has enabled him to confirm the correct identity for several cars which had lost their provenance. This volume represents in great part his life quest, to the point that it is literally the core of his identity – as any of his family members and friends will confirm, from having had to listen to him talk about his obsession over the years!

Specification

340mm x 245mm | Cloth hardback (no slipcase) | 576 pages | Over 1300 images | Price: £325.00 | ISBN: 978-1-913089-71-9 | Publisher: Porter Press International | Publication date: December 2024 | Author: Ronnie Spain

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