Story

A Defining Piece of Motorsport History

May 28, 2026

Born from the high-stakes rivalry of Detroit’s industrial ambition colliding with Maranello’s entrenched pride, the Ford GT40 confidently stands as one of the most significant racing cars ever built.

Broad Arrow Private Sales presents the unrepeatable opportunity to experience history firsthand, bringing chassis P1006, campaigned by Ford Advanced Vehicles in the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans, to market. Visit broadarrowprivatesales.com, where the remarkable provenance of chassis P1006 is presented in full. Its racing history is thoroughly documented and accompanied by a comprehensive gallery highlighting the defining MK. 1 styling cues that continue to shape contemporary GT models.

By loading the video, you agree to YouTube's privacy policy.
Learn more

Load video

Always unblock YouTube

Joining the GT40, Broad Arrow Private Sales proudly offers a varied selection of collector cars available for immediate acquisition. From the highly eligible 1954 Maserati 250F by Cameron Millar to a wonderfully preserved 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing Coupe, connect with a Broad Arrow Specialist to secure your next collector car.

1965 Ford GT40
Location: France
Price Available Upon Request

Factory entry by Ford Advanced Vehicles at the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans, piloted by Ireland/Whitmore
The first GT40 to feature the defining MK. 1 styling cues still prevalent on GT models today
Restored in its distinct Linden Green livery as raced at Le Mans 1965
Over 30 years of long-term single ownership in France
Previously on loan at the 24 Hours of Le Mans Museum
Raced by Henri Pescarolo in the Whitsun Trophy at the 2013 Goodwood Revival
A heavily documented and compelling racecar eligible for Le Mans Classic, Goodwood Revival, and other top-flight vintage races

The details of this spectacular Ford GT40 available now via Broad Arrow Private Sales

The car was built for Le Mans 1965 and “originally allocated to Richard Attwood and Innes Ireland, but the former had suffered burns when he crashed Reg Parnell’s Lotus-BRM at Spa in the previous weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, so he was replaced by Sir John Whitmore… it was the first GT40 to race with what became the standard GT40 nose, variously dubbed the ‘Le Mans’ nose and the ‘Len Bailey’ nose, after its designer.”

The Le Mans nose: “Almost from the moment that the Ford GT first ventured onto a track, it was apparent that too much aerodynamic lift was being generated at the front end, and cooling was also a problem. As documented previously, numerous modifications were tried to alleviate both problems, but those did little to improve things, and some of the changes were certainly detrimental to the car’s aesthetics. Fortunately, chassis designer Len Bailey made a major leap forward for the car when he designed a new nose which solved all these problems and defined the look of the GT40.”

The new nose was tested in the MIRA wind tunnel, showing a decrease in drag coefficient from 0.413 to 0.35, and a reduction in front end lift at 200mph from 328.9lb to 51lb.

19/6/65 Le Mans – Ireland/Whitmore, “10th fastest in practice at 3:43.3. This was the first public appearance of a GT40 with the definitive nose treatment. GT40 P/1006 was the only GT40 in the race thus equipped. Did 15 laps practice on the 17th and a further 15 on the 18th. Retired from the race with a blown head gasket. Originally entered as race number 8. Entry sponsored by Weekend Telegraph.”

1006 was retained by FAV as a development car and used at two four-day tests at Monza in September 1965. At the first, driven by Ireland, Attwood, Baghetti and Maglioli, it suffered from overheating and broke a conrod. At the second Monza test it overheated twice before the engine blew, then clocked up another 156 laps before a brake caliper failed. After that it was retired from FAV service.

Parts from 1006 (suspension, doors, sills) were removed and used in the belated completion of GT40 P/1000. 1006 was sold to Terry Drury. “He rebuilt it using a spare Alan Mann aluminium body (from AM GT-2, which Paul Hawkins had standardised with glassfibre panels), narrowing the roof structure to fit the new bodywork… It was sprayed metalflake yellow and has non-standard interior trim.”

2/7/71 Registered for road use as MEJ 460J.

1978 “The chassis was sent to Paul Weddon’s Church Green Engineering in Dorset for repair, suffering from the standard GT40 complaint – rust. … While this work was being carried out, GT40 P/1006’s early significance, long since lost, was discovered by the author [Ronnie Spain] and immediately passed on to the owner… GT40 P/1006 was rebuilt to its 1965 Le Mans trim.”

12/93 After several auction appearances where the car did not sell, “Finally bought by Robert Sarrailh in Paris. A new engine was fitted and GT40 P/1006 was fully sorted. Apart from the occasional show appearance, GT40 P/1006 has hardly been seen in public since.”