2001 GTD40 GTD40

This lot will be auctioned via Iconic Auctioneers, The Iconic Sale at the NEC Classic Motor Show 2026 on Saturday the 14th of November, NEC, Birmingham, B40 1NT. GTD Supercars were the best known and most respected builders of Ford GT40 Replicas in the country in the late 1990s and had the necessary facilities and talented engineers to make an excellent job of it. They had started out originally as agents for the KVA GT40 Replica but it wasn't long before they had redesigned the front and rear of the KVA chassis and were selling the cars as GTDs. As is often the way with bright young engineers, they weren't happy until they were building the whole car to their own standards and many of these still take pride of place at GT40 events today.

For our vendor, the story of this remarkable GTD40 began not in 1999 when construction commenced, but more than three decades earlier at Oulton Park. Attending the Sports Car meeting there in 1966, he encountered a purple GT40 and one particular detail remained firmly lodged in his memory; the seats, finished with brass eyelets. It was, in his words, "the stuff of dreams", and the image stayed with him for the next 33 years.

In 1999, the opportunity finally arose to turn that long-held ambition into reality. GTD Developments of Poole, Dorset were by then well established in the GT40 recreation market and were selected to provide the chassis and bodywork, together with the windscreen, rear window, side screens, fuel tanks and numerous other components. From the outset, our vendor's intention was straightforward, everything was to be done to the highest standards.

The resulting car was effectively completed in two stages with the first concentrating on getting the GTD built and running, after which the completed car passed the, then, Single Vehicle Approval test and was first registered on 1st April 2001. Importantly, the current V5C records the make correctly as 'GTD 40', with our vendor remaining its sole registered keeper from new. With the car successfully completed and registered, attention subsequently turned to developing the mechanical specification further, including upgrades to both the engine and transmission.

At its heart is a Ford 302 V8, stroked to 347 cubic inches, or approximately 5.7 litres. The specification is impressive and includes a SCAT 'stroker' crankshaft, Keith Black pistons, I-beam connecting rods, Trick Flow aluminium cylinder heads, a Comp Cam, Edelbrock inlet manifold and a Holley 600cfm four-barrel carburettor with vacuum secondaries. The necessary engine machining was entrusted to Knight Racing Services in Daventry.

Further attention includes a high-volume oil pump, competition timing chain, thermostatically controlled oil cooler and Facet Red Top fuel pumps with Malpassi regulators, whilst a stainless-steel crossover exhaust system completes the installation. Drive is transmitted through a Renault 21T transaxle prepared by Chris Cole, with a purpose-built Chris Cole bellhousing and Frank Catt custom-made remote gear-change mechanism. Scorpio Cosworth brakes provide the stopping power, whilst the GTD sits on BRM-style Image wheels shod with Avon ZZ1 tyres.

The attention lavished on the mechanical specification is equally evident elsewhere. The metallic red bodywork suits the dramatic GT40 shape particularly well, whilst the cabin was clearly an important part of recreating the car that had made such an impression all those years ago. Magnolia leather with contrasting red piping covers much of the interior, including the leather-faced dashboard, whilst those distinctive eyeleted seats provide a direct visual link back to the car our vendor remembers from Oulton Park in 1966. Stewart Warner instrumentation, a GT40-style steering wheel, full carpeting and red Willans harnesses complete the purposeful interior. Air conditioning has also been incorporated into the build, although we understand that two final connections remain to be completed before the system can be gassed and commissioned.

More than 25 years after it was first registered, the GTD remains with the man who built it and had just 887 miles indicated at the time of cataloguing. It is correctly recorded as a GTD 40 on its current V5C and is accompanied by an MOT valid until June 2027, issued with no advisories.

There are many GT40 recreations, but relatively few come with a story quite as personal as this. From an encounter with a GT40 at Oulton Park in 1966, through a 33-year ambition to build one of his own, to the highly specified 347ci V8-powered car presented here today, this GTD40 represents the fulfilment of a very long-held dream and we encourage your inspection in person at our NEC Classic Motor Show Sale.