Perfect Gulf GT40 replica now available

Prices start at £185,000 and only 50 will be made.

06 August 2019 at 08:00

It's been 50 years since the Gulf Oil-liveried Ford GT40, one of the most iconic cars of all-time, won the famed 24 hours of Le Mans.

Now to celebrate the big birthday of GT40 chassis P/1075, a run of tribute edition models are being rolled out. Only 50 are being made as part of a unique collaboration between Superformance, Safir GT40 and Gulf.

The cars, dubbed 'toolroom copies' come complete with a GT40 P/1000 Series chassis number; limited edition Gulf GT40 guitar (yes, really); and a plaque listing 25 of the employees that were key to P/1075’s success.

The toolroom copies are accurate mechanical recreations of the original car, put together after the builders were given unprecedented access to the original machine. They even come complete with HTP FIA-approval that makes them eligible for historic racing.

Tribute editions are also available and while they are visually identical to the toolroom copies and the original car, under the skin they are very different. Power comes from a choice of Roush-built Ford V8 engines ranging in size from 5.0 litres to 7.0 litres, and the option of Quaife RFQ or ZF RBT transaxle. They even come with full air conditioning and are road legal.

There's quite a price difference between the pair, with the toolroom copies priced from £280,000 including VAT, while the tribute editions start at £185,000. Both though are much less than the stratospheric pricetag that the original machines command these days.

Copies of the pre-1966 GT40s (the ones that didn't do all the winning) are also available from £250,000.

"We’ve had a chance to make our own comparison of the fabulous P/1075 continuation cars with the genuine article, which featured in the recent Goodwood Festival of Speed event, and are very excited by what we are able to offer," said Le Mans Coupes Ltd’s Managing Director Oliver Hulme. "Only one person can own the original and that’s unlikely to come to market anytime soon, and will be way beyond the pocket of 99.9 percent of enthusiasts if and when it does."

"Under the circumstances these limited- edition Superformance recreations have to be a serious consideration and amazing value for money. With the much vaunted 'Ford V Ferrari' film due out in November, interest in GT40s is the highest it’s been for years, and climbing."