Superformance Championship Series GT40 Celebrates 1966 Racing Success

Few seasons loom larger in Ford Performance history than 1966. It was the year the Ford GT40 finally broke Ferrari’s stranglehold on endurance racing, captured victories at Daytona, Sebring, and Le Mans, and secured the International Manufacturers Championship. Sixty years later, enthusiasts can celebrate that landmark campaign with a limited-production series of continuation GT40s that pay tribute to the teams and drivers who made it happen.

Developed in partnership with Safir Engineering, Superformance’s new Championship Season Series honors the Ford GT40 Mk II race cars campaigned by Shelby American, Holman Moody, and Alan Mann Racing during the legendary 1966 season. Limited to just 66 examples worldwide, each continuation GT40 carries one of eight historic liveries and continues the original GT40 chassis-numbering lineage.

“Nineteen sixty-six was a milestone motorsports year when the GT40 sports car finally broke Ferrari’s stranglehold on endurance racing,” Lance Stander, CEO of Superformance, said. “Three teams battled the European powerhouses worldwide that year with the mighty Ford-powered mid-engine car. Our new Championship Season Series is a tribute to those incredible cars. An enthusiast can choose from one of the eight liveries that raced in 1966 with some very special anniversary touches. This is a rare opportunity to own a car with such high potential collectability, which makes the ownership experience even more enjoyable.”

Ford tasked Shelby American, Holman Moody, and Alan Mann Racing with developing and campaigning GT40 race cars in parallel as part of its pursuit of endurance-racing supremacy. The effort delivered three major overall victories during the 1966 season and helped Ford capture the International Manufacturers Championship after years of Ferrari dominance.

Historic Wins

The campaign opened with a commanding performance at the 24 Hours of Daytona on February 6, 1966, where GT40s finished first, second, third, and fifth. Ford followed that result with a podium sweep at the 12 Hours of Sebring on March 26 before achieving one of the most celebrated finishes in motorsports history with a 1-2-3 result at the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 18-19.

The Championship Season Series commemorates those achievements with eight historically significant liveries. Shelby American-themed models include tributes to the Ken Miles and Denny Hulme Le Mans entry (P/1015), the Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon Le Mans #2 car (P/1046), and the Dan Gurney and Jerry Grant machine (P/1047), which set the fastest qualifying lap at Le Mans that year.

The available Holman Moody liveries honor Ronnie Bucknum and Dick Hutcherson’s P/1016, which finished third at Le Mans, Mario Andretti and Lucien Bianchi’s P/1031, and the distinctive bronze-and-dayglow-green P/1032 driven by Mark Donohue and Paul Hawkins. Alan Mann Racing options pay tribute to the XGT-1 driven by Sir John Whitmore and Frank Gardner and the XGT-2 campaigned by Graham Hill and Brian Muir.

“These victories established the GT40 sports car as one of the greatest of all time,” John Sadler, one of three Safir partners, said. “People have tried to copy the cars since then, but only a handful of authentic GT40 cars have been built over the past 60 years. These special tribute cars are as close as you can get to sitting on the grid in 1966 inside a new GT40 sports car for your favorite racing team.”

Exclusive Details

Each Championship Season Series GT40 receives exclusive 60th Anniversary details, including commemorative badging, anniversary-themed interior trim with sound-deadening and heat-dissipating materials, special gauge graphics, twin 10-gallon fuel tanks, front and rear quick jacks, and 15-inch Halibrand-style wheels with aluminum spinners. The cars also carry 1200-series GT40P/1200 prototype serial numbers and include a Safir GT40 Certificate of Authenticity signed by the Safir directors.

Shelby-themed models add Shelby serial numbers, Shelby logos, and Carroll Shelby mechanical signatures. The Ken Miles tribute car also includes Ken Miles mechanical signatures, while the Dan Gurney version comes with a “Dan Gurney for President” bumper sticker. Depending on the livery selected, owners will also receive a signed letter from either Shelby American President Gary Patterson or Alan Mann Racing CEO Henry Mann.

Built under the supervision of Safir GT40 Spares at the Superformance production facility in South Africa, the continuation GT40 chassis remain remarkably faithful to the original cars. Each features an authentic steel monocoque design, including a pressed-steel roof structure, while more than two-thirds of the rolling chassis components interchange with original 1960s-built GT40s.

The chassis incorporates independent suspension, upgraded shocks and springs, and vented disc brakes. Designed to accept a Ford FE-family big-block engine, the package includes a Ford 427 FE installation kit, while Shelby-built engines are available with either aluminum or iron blocks. Buyers can also choose left- or right-hand-drive configurations equipped with the original-style sill-mounted shifter.

“The GT40 sports car dominated endurance racing for four years, and those wins elevated the international opinion of American car companies,” Stander added. “They truly represent an important racing and cultural shift.”

As the only GT40 built under license from Safir GT40 Spares Ltd., each Superformance GT40 receives an official Safir-issued MSO and inclusion in the GT40 Registry. With production capped at 66 examples worldwide, pricing for these models begins at $295,000 for the rolling chassis, and you can learn more about these machines by visiting the Superformance website.