In pictures: Ford GT40 MkIII

Sometimes it pays to look back before moving forward. As Ford presses on with new electric models and modern motorsport competitors, Car Design News is taking a look back at the Ford GT40 MkIII, a Ferrari-beating motorsport legend turned road car. This particular 1969 example is owned by Ford UK as part of its heritage fleet. 

Compared to contemporary product evolution, unusually, the MKIII GT40 was a motorsport-first model. When it came time to make the car road legal, its most noticeable changes included moving the headlights up to a compliant height. This resulted in the angular racing car’s single headlamp units being replaced with twin spotlights and a more rounded housing. 

From the driving seat, it’s hard to see or believe there’s a huge radiator packaged beneath the sculpted bonnet. As with any car of this caliber, balancing heat management, aero and sleek design is no easy task but one Ford deftly leaned on in its later supercar homages to the original GT40.

At the front, the MkIII wears 6.5 inch wide Borrani wire wheels and the rear features 8 inch wide versions of the 15 inch diameter wheels. The sweeping front wheel arches disguise fuel filler caps either side which feed fuel tanks positioned below the doors.

Despite having the blue oval being an established symbol of the American brand by the 1960s, Ford opted for distinct lettering across the front end. The only pop of colour is a Pepsi-style ‘Ford G.T.’ badge mounted in the centre of the steering wheel. 

A central windscreen wiper is responsible for clearing the screen. From the exterior, the single wiper’s coverage of the windshield seems limited, but the reclined seating position inside only affords the driver visibility out of the bottom half of the screen. 

With closely matched front and rear overhangs, the GT40 MkIII’s proportions are beautifully balanced. In more than five decades, the side profile of supercars has remained largely unchanged. To accommodate a luggage box under the rear clamshell, the MkIII is slightly longer than its racing sibling.

Incorporated into the rear clamshell, the side air intakes flow directly from the sculpted doors into wide openings to funnel air behind the cabin. This has been a key design feature on every iteration of the GT40 including its contemporary namesakes. 

Flying buttresses channel air directly into the engine bay under the rear window. Unlike the GT40’s 2005 reimagining they’re not quite big enough to perform the additional function of offering extra rearward blindspot visibility. 

Chrome trim is used sparingly around the body, mainly focused on the side windows and door handles. Ford took its aerodynamic design seriously with flush handles, much like modern day electric car handles, that pop out by pushing back on the raised section. Its hinged windows allow a little airflow into the cabin while facilitating the cabin’s curvature above the beltline. 

Unlike the motorsport variant, the MkIII’s seats are soft, comfortable laid back luxury. You’d be forgiven for mistaking them as Bauhaus-style chaise lounges. Brass rings accent the black leather offering rudimentary breathability. The driver’s seat has taken a beating over the years since the only way to get in is by first standing on it and sliding into place. 

From a time when switchgear meant switches, all interior controls in the MkIII are very simple. Just two levers are dedicated to the climate system and each function in this example has been labelled where factory markers didn’t exist. In the absence of stalks branching out from behind the steering wheel, wiper, indicator and light controls are housed on the dash. 

Mounted atop a Holley carburettor, a huge air filter dominates the driver’s rearward visibility. In contrast to the MkIII’s curvaceous bodywork, the rectangular hunk of metal sits centre stage in the rear window. This is the only overt nod to the model's mechanical heart: a 5.7-litre V8 engine. 

Instead of being integrated into the rear clamshell, louvres were crafted on a separate panel before they were joined to the body. Every fastening around the windows and panels are a subtle reminder that just seven MkIII models were handbuilt in the late 1960s. 

Protruding from the rear of the vehicle, both the tail lights and chrome bumpers are minimalist features. Below the bumper, hinges for the clamshell keep the bodywork supported above the twin exhaust pipes when the engine bay is exposed. 

One of the defining characteristics of all GT40 models is the car’s steep Kammback. As a road-refined version, the MkIII’s rear end is a more cohesive part of the body unlike racing versions that exposed more of the exhaust. Earlier examples saw the exhaust poke through where the number plate sits but a rear luggage box means the exhaust was routed underneath instead.