LONDON: If you aren't one of the lucky 500 to have bought the new Ford GT, you may want to settle for an oldie in the form of the Superformance GT40 that are replicas of the famous Ford GT40 MkII A that finished first, second, and third overall at the Le Mans 24 Hour Race in 1966.

The Superformance GT40 has a monocoque chassis that is said to be an exact replica of the original.

With 6,506 applicants chasing just 500 initial examples of the new GT at £300,000 (RM1.8mil) each, many would-be owners are going to be disappointed. And with original GT40s each now valued in the millions of dollars, it would seem all Ford supercars are beyond the reach of everyone but the super-rich. Well not quite, thanks to Le Mans Coupes Ltd who can supply one of the Superformance GT40 evocations for the more affordable price of £102,500 (RM616,000).



It claimed that 70 percent of the components are interchangeable with their original counterparts, they come complete with P/2000 Series chassis numbers recognised by the Shelby American World Registry. Each example is hand-built by Hi-Tech Automotive in 270,000 sq ft premises in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. They are offered in MKI and MKII form and with left or right-hand drive.

The many options include a choice of powerplants from 5.6 to 7.0 litres (ie 430 to 560bhp), central or sill-mounted gearchange, and ZF RBT or Quaife transaxle. Depending on the choice of engine, Superformance GT40s can sprint from rest to 100kph in just 3.7 seconds and accelerate on to a top speed of over 330kph.

“Interest in the GT40 has grown steadily since the model’s 50th anniversary celebration of two years ago, and has inevitably been further heightened by the launch of the new GT and Ford’s exciting decision to give it its Le Mans debut exactly 50 years after first beating Ferrari there,” said Le Mans Coupes’ managing director Nigel Hulme.

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