Hagerty Magazine’s Conner Golden compares Ford’s Le Mans winners with Ferraris they beat in this FORD GT40 VALUE GUIDE.
When three Ford GT40 Mark IIs crossed the finish line 1-2-3 in the rain at Le Mans in 1966, it was the first of four consecutive Ford wins at the legendary Circuit de la Sarthe. Beating Ferrari at Daytona, Sebring and Le Mans elevated the Ford brand in international endurance racing, yet today’s prices of those iconic racecars have not kept pace with also-iconic Ferrari models that they beat! The Mark I and Mark III, left, Road variants, as well as the unique Mark IV, above, that won Le Mans and Sebring in 1967 are included in this comprehensive FORD GT40 VALUE GUIDE.
Rivet for rivet, I’m not sure you can find a car that matches the Ford GT40’s raw collectability. Ford’s mid-engine wunderkind exists at the intersection of historical importance, motorsport legend, iconic personalities, exemplary engineering, and pure desirability. Not every Ferrari race car is important, but I reckon every GT40 built is noteworthy by its existence alone.
Archie Urciouli in GT40 Mark I P/1083, leads a Mark IV down the “corkscrew” at Laguna Seca.
Despite that, many Ferraris of similar or lesser provenance trade for millions more. Could it be that the GT40 is undervalued? Yes, we know there are plenty of zeros involved in the going rate of a finished GT40. It’s not an everyman car, but it is a storybook car, maybe the storybook car in America’s sports car history. That alone is reason enough to seek a better understanding of the GT40’s place into the collector market.
GT40 Mark IIB, P/1016 photographed at NY Auto Show by Phil Roitman
If we’re looking at raw numbers, despite all that appeal, it’s usually only a cluster of GT40s with heavy competition history that break the $10 million mark. The rest of the cars – regardless of generation – trade beneath the eight-figure waterline (the “average” GT40 transacts for just under $6 million), presenting a relative bargain compared to some of the superstars from Europe.
Indeed, values of the GT40’s Ferrari contemporaries – 250 LM – and the 330/412 P family—have lapped the Ford more than three times over. The 250 LM has traded in rare air for a long time: public sales dating back to the early-to-mid 2010s saw values as low as $10 million and as high as $17 million. According to Hagerty valuation data, in today’s climate, $17 million fetches a rough 250 LM, while the cleanest attract an average of $24 million!
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