The following month during testing at Le Mans, it was the fourth-fastest car behind Ford’s experimental J-Car, a Mk II GT40, and the GT-1’s sister car, AM GT-2 (Myers says it reached 210 mph). Ultimately, Ford decided to retire the small-block-powered Alan Mann Lightweights and entered only its 7.0-liter Mk IIs in the historic 1966 24 Hours
The motor that started it all. The Ford 427 Sideoiler is a member of the FE-series of engines replacing the outgoing and short-lived Y-motor, which itself took the place of the flathead V-8. The FE-family was produced from 1958 to 1976 and was offered in displacements from 330 cubic inches on up to 428. It was available in a range of Ford cars
The Ford v Ferrari battle at the Le Mans 24 Hours race of 1966 was a personal feud between Henry Ford II and Enzo Ferrari that played out on endurance racing’s grandest stage, the story dramatic enough to warrant a Hollywood telling of the story that took Ford to the top step at La Sarthe. The early 1960s was dominated by Ferrari but, behind Shelby American clinched the championship on July 4, 1965 at Reims. The Daytona Coupes were scattered to the four winds after the 1965 season. Shelby and Ford had moved on to the GT-40 racing program by then, not to mention production of the Shelby Mustangs. Some of the Daytona Coupes were sold to independent racers and collectors. .