Ford GT40 - on the road

[Fastdruid]

It's the famous "Walther" GT40.

I heard someone tried to start it and ended up setting fire to the car and warehouse (along with a whole load of other rare cars stored there), the remains were then bulldozed into the ground.

Some time later bits were recovered and the chassis plate lives on...

[Yeloperil]

Fastdruid said:

I originally thought the first one was a replica but it's registered as a 1970 Ford so may be genuine or it may be slightly incorrectly registered...

No, it can't be genuine, wheels are wrong, clip latches are wrong. It's a replica. Probably a KVA based on a Cortina and taking its registration.

GYE 4C is I believe a genuine 1966 Mk1

Edited by Fastdruid on Wednesday 23 July 13:27

[Yeloperil]

Hmmm, the yellow car looks identical to the one parked in my garage

[Fastdruid]

Identical as in the same car or identical as in yours is the blue one and they look the same?

[dinkel]

Michael Hipperson ... wow, I've contacted him about 10 years ago. Some very interesting stories indeed.

Thanks for the update!

[Yeloperil]

Yeloperil said:

Hmmm, the yellow car looks identical to the one parked in my garage

The Log In name gives a clue!

[Fastdruid]

Yeloperil said:

Yeloperil said:

Hmmm, the yellow car looks identical to the one parked in my garage

The Log In name gives a clue!

That you had a yellow car 7 years ago?

[chevronb37]

Chaps - thanks so much for taking the time to read the article. I'm glad you've enjoyed it and it's given rise to some interesting GT40 chat.

I've had an e-mail from Michael over the weekend suggesting we should write a book on all his ludicrous antics. I'll keep you posted!

[dinkel]

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/profile.asp?h=0...

Isn't this mr. Hippersons profile here?

Bizzarini said:

This was mine....1970 Miura S...purchased from the model Twiggy.
She kept her SV.
My ownership 1972-74



I miss it.

Bizzarini said:

Another Miura snap here ( 1972) with my late brothers Maserati Bora V8...



CHECK this for all car stories: www.jam.co.uk/hipperson/
Also my Dad's 911 2.2E.....my 1971 Daytona...and the family Ford....... Chassis 1005

Just a normal family afternoon in an Suffolk country garden

Bizzarini said:

I sold the car to Salt Walther( a very well known Indy 500 racer) was burnt out with some Indy cars in dubious circumstances...it came back to this country about 6 years ago.....from then on begins a story you could not make up !

'1005'(note the commas) races in Historics successfully today.

Here is a bit from BBS 2003 on MBM 111

Posted 18 November 2003 at 14:29:22 UK time
M R Hipperson, Essex, United Kingdom
I owned a 1970 Miura S through 1972-1975.Registration MBM 111.Lime Green with 2 orange stripes.The little fellow that was roadtesting on Top Gear was 100% wrong on all his comments.He expected it to drive like a new car...it's a 40 year old design for goodness sake.It was awesome to drive because it was always in control of you;rather than now where aids are helping you keep your supercar on the road.The noise just behind your ears was out of this world.My run showing it off to people was a lovely bit of road between Sudbury and Wethersfield where on a shortish straight you could double what is now the limit.In 2nd gear the acceleration was out of this world.My wife refused to ride in it after a while saying it hurt her neck..I paid £4600 for and sold it 2 years later for £8000.But the only place I could sell it was Australia...it being oil crisis times.
As a postsript the chap I sold it to ,Philip McMasters, had the engine blueprinted and went thru a speed trap outside Adelaide at 192 mph.Sentenced to 40 days....but only served one night.

Bizzarini said:

This shot shows purity of line.....to think that design is over 40 years old



The Ford on the same day..



These two came 4 years later



The Dino is a 246GTS 1974....a fine little car
The Ferrari is a V12 365GT...unkindly referred in books as the 'Grandmother of Maranello'..rather heavy and ponderous. I bought because it was cheap..£2200. Never destined to be worth a fortune.

CHECK this for all car stories www.jam.co.uk/hipperson/

[will_]

I remember reading those stories years ago - fascinating and a book would probably be very interesting!

What a great life to have had - seems like a really genuine chap too.

[Nick Brough]

chevronb37 said:

Now then all,

I recently interviewed a fascinating chap called Michael Hipperson about his experiences running a GT40 as a road car back in the 1970s. Around the same time he had a Miura, Bora, Daytona, 275 GTB/2, Carrera 2.7 RS...you get the picture!

Anyway, it's a crazy tale and hopefully one which will resonate with some of you guys.

http://racetechmag.com/features-1/item/795-living-...

Hi,

Hope you don't mind I have put a link to your article on th www.gt40s.com web site.

Fastdruid said:

I do love how that could be mistaken for a kit car/replica with those panel gaps.
What's crazy is that so many of the builders spend hours over getting the gaps right yet on real cars they were all over the shop!

Maybe I shouldn't bother so hard getting them right with mine...

A GT40 aficionado friend of mine always says the panel gap on the originals was atrocious. I say it has taken me hours to get the build quality and panel gaps on mine as awful as the originals :-)

[majordad]

Here's one parked at Hotel de France in La Chartre sur Loir the Friday of this years LM24.

[dinkel]

Nick Brough said:

chevronb37 said:

A GT40 aficionado friend of mine always says the panel gap on the originals was atrocious. I say it has taken me hours to get the build quality and panel gaps on mine as awful as the originals :-)

Looking at period pictures panel gaps often look a bit off. The corrected classic cars of today look too tidy and perfect. But then, that's how owners want them to be ...

[DonkeyApple]

Very many of the great creations of the 20th century have been either when someone has taken something British and added 'foreign' or when someone has taken something foreign and added 'British' to it.

The Cobra being an example of the former and the GT40 the latter. The story of both are true motoring legends.

[kellys hero]

XRS said:

Enjoyed that. Reminds me of the time back in the 60s when a local engineer Jim Fielding (of Fielding & Platt in Gloucester) ran his GT40 with the registration plate G90. Always a thrill to see it.

Thread resurrection but my mum (now in her 80's) worked for Jim as a PA or similar and she has often told me stories about hearing his GT40 driving in as it could be heard from a long way away, gave them early warning of the boss arriving! She even remembered the reg as G90. Apparently everybody thought he was crackers to get rid of the Bentley for the GT. What did they know!

[TR4man]

Really enjoyed the Hipperson articles - please do try and put them into a book!

[Stephanie Plum]

A book is on the way I believe….. will be published hopefully this summer

[castex]

Wonder if Noel still has his. He did 186mph dontcha know. In the nude.

[dinkel]

Wow, is that a 1969 Honda 600?

[castex]

dinkel said:

Wow, is that a 1969 Honda 600?

Yes, looks like a Z.

Assuming that is NE in the second picture, has he had two different GT40s?

This is perhaps the 'Slazenger' one.



Edit: No, the window looks different.

Edited by castex on Saturday 20th February 20:07