*This is a translation done by a machine.

After Ford failed to buy Ferrari, he decided to build his own machine to compete in the 24 hour Le Mans race. Henry Ford II wanted to make his name known around the world again by defeating Ferrari. Ford's secret weapon was the Ford GT.

Anyway, in the 1960s, the Le Mans 24 hour race was far more important to automakers than it is now, and was one of the most important places to promote brands around the world. And Henry Ford II was the one who believed the marketing effect of winning against Le Mans the most.

At the time, the glory of Le Mans was at Ferrari, and Ford quickly tried to buy it, but failed. Ford quickly teamed up with Laura to build a GT 40 midship placer to beat Ferrari. He has won four consecutive titles since 66 with Carol Shelby.

To put it simply, the history was as mentioned above, but the story is more complicated. If you say that 1 year (66 Years of First Victory) of the story was a movie, you can imagine how interesting it was.

That said, the Ford GT, later the Ford GT 40, is still a popular model as the iconic racing car of the century. With the exception of Mark III, which was produced as a road car, only basic racing cars are used, and the total number of cars produced is estimated to be around 110. Therefore, it is very difficult to get the real one, and even an individual without a race history is worth more than 100 million yen. The name of the car is so widely known that the manufacturer makes a successor car with an image of its design.

It's almost impossible to buy the real thing. But for those of you who love its shape, I'd like to introduce you to the GT 40 replica.

As mentioned above, the real GT 40 was manufactured primarily as a racing car. That's why there were so many people involved in the race activities and maintenance, and the facilities, molds, and tools were left in the UK where the original project started. Partly because the racing team was switched to Carol Shelby in the middle of the race, the former team members began to capitalize on the GT 40's fame as remnants of the Ford GT 40, so to speak.

The result is a number of replicas, continuations, and kit cars. Representative examples include Sue Performance, Safia, ERA, KVA, CAV, Southern GT, and Holman Moody's. The Ford GT 40 replica that became the most famous in Japan was GTD 40 Le Mans by GTD, partly because there was an authorized importer at one time in Japan.

The fact that it was originally a racing car shows that it is very difficult to verify which conditions are real. In particular, the Ford GT 40, which debuted as a prototype in 64, underwent modifications each time it competed to win a race. Moreover, perhaps because it was at the mercy of the race regulation, the configuration of the car varies depending on the chassis number.

That's why it's hard to know what to base it on, but it's still possible to make a judgment as to whether or not the atmosphere is real. I think it's similar to seeing the appearance of a used car you meet and somehow understanding the quality of things.

On the other hand, this GTD 40 doesn't have any rough treatment, so it has a dignified appearance and quite a presence. According to the current owner, the car was owned by an authorized importer as a demonstration car at that time, and it appeared on a famous car show (Verified).

The condition of the interior using the moquette was wonderful, and I was happy to see the odometer. The mileage is only 820 miles. According to the current owner, it was used as a demonstration car and a show car, and then it was stored in a warehouse without being registered. It was lightly maintained by the current owner and registered, so the first year of registration is 2017.

If you take a closer look, there are some things you are concerned about such as scratches and peeling off the shield glue, but I think the overall condition is good. Above all, this design has an atmosphere that makes you want to ride and drive. Even if it is a replica, it is the reason why many people long for it.

The current owner, who knows GT 40 well, has already installed and registered the engine. In recent years, the market price of real cars has reached a ceiling, and the market price of replicas has also risen in conjunction with that. Even copying cars are no longer easy to enjoy.

It may be the last chance to enjoy an old famous racer easily. I think the car of a certain TV program is interesting as a substory to enjoy in Japan.