Hot Wheels is paying tribute to arguably the most famous Ford GT40 of them all – the Blue Oval’s 1966 Le Mans-winning Mk.II – with a limited-run, 1:64-scale diecast replica. Available now as part of Mattel’s ‘Hot Wheels Collectors’ series, each model is available from $40 USD (plus the $10, one-year digital membership to the exclusive Hot Wheels Red Line Club). Like the Foxbody Mustang and the made-to-order 1997 Toyota Supra RLC before it, purchases will be limited just two per customer.
Like its full-sized 1966 forebear, Hot Wheels’ scale model features an all-black livery, white roundels (complete with the winning #2 race number), and ‘Ford’ decals down the flanks. The dual racing stripes across the hood, roof and engine cowling have also been replicated, as have the enormous dual exhausts and rear radiators. In a neat touch, Hot Wheels has even duplicated the riveting around the “super light smoke-tinted” windows. Unsurprisingly, the beating, 7.0-liter V8 at the heart of the GT40 Mk.II is a prominent part of the celebratory design, as indeed is the rear-hinged engine cover. Which, yes, you can open. The diecast model comes packaged in an acrylic case with a very cool decorative slipcover.
Interestingly, and unlike many of its previous models, Hot Wheels avoided modifications to the original design, though a couple have slipped through the cracks. The gold alloys, for instance, clad with performance tires with ‘Goodyear’ stickers included, are actually Mattel’s bespoke ‘Real Riders S/C’ design. And, like another fast Ford by Hot Wheels, the true black paint is actually a ‘Spectraflame’ original.
You all know the story. By the early 1960s, Ferrari, having won pretty much everything from the Formula 1 and World SportsCar Championships to the Mille Miglia (eight times) and Le Mans (technically six times by 1962), was running out of money. Enter Ford, who offered Il Commendatore a handsome $16 million USD for the company, which, under the Blue Oval’s direction, would be split in twain: Ford-Ferrari, overseen by Detroit, would take care of the road cars, while Ferrari-Ford, with Ferrari holding 90% of the shares, would be in charge of the racing side of things. All seemed to be running smoothly until 21 May 1963, when Ferrari, having spotted a clause in the contract that limited his “absolute” control of his racing team – the Italian’s one, ironclad condition – said ‘thanks but no thanks’ in a succession of increasingly loud three-letter words. That was the end of that. Henry Ford II, informed of Ferrari’s 11th hour withdrawal, wanted revenge, and quickly greenlit a project that would “crush” the pokey Italian supercar maker at Le Mans: the GT40.
Ford’s attempts at Le Mans in 1964 and 1965 famously didn’t go particularly well, with none of the eight GT40s entered making the finish. Ultimately, chassis P/1046, the 47th GT40 of an 87-car production run by Ford Advanced Vehicles, would finally make history in 1966 when it led three of its brethren across the line at La Sarthe. It was a result that secured both Ford and North America’s first overall win at Le Mans, at the highest average speed ever recorded at that time, rubbing the Prancing Horse’s nose into their dust in the process. It would be the first of four successive wins for Ford at Le Mans, an achievement that would be celebrated by the company, half a century later, with the first of many Heritage Edition GTs, one of which recently sold at auction for a truly absurd price.
Source: Hot Wheels
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