Superformance GT40 50th on sale | Update

50th anniversary model for Gulf-liveried chassis 1075 costs from £185k - or £280k for a '69 Toolroom Copy

Update - 05.08.2019

Superformance has confirmed that its Gulf-liveried 50^th anniversary GT40 costs from £185,000 in Britain, with the racier Toolroom Copy that more closely mimics the specs of the 1969 Le Mans winner priced from £285k. Both variants of the gorgeous blue and orange recreation are tributes to chassis P/1075, in which Jacky Ickx and Jackie Oliver beat the Porsche 908 to the top step of the podium some 50 years ago. The chassis, which had won the year before as well, gave Ford its fourth consecutive and final overall win on the Circuit de la Sarthe - so it's certainly worthy of celebration in 2019.

Esteemed vintage car recreator Superformance has kept the GT40 that marks the occasion as close to the original setup as possible, offering it with a choice of 5.0-litre or 7.0-litre Ford V8s, both of which are supplied by engine specialist Roush. There are some modern components, including Quaife RFQ or ZF RBT transaxles (buyers can choose which they want), but much of the setup is interchangeable with the 1969 GT40's. Nowhere else is this truer than in the Toolroom Copy version, which is so authentic that it's eligible for the FIA’s Historic Technical Passport, meaning it can race at classic events alongside the old stuff.

With only 50 examples of the ’69 tribute cars to be made by Superformance, it's probably only fair to expect a tiny handful to make their way to Britain via official importer Le Mans Coupes. If you miss the boat on that batch, Superformance is now also producing recreations of the pre-1966 GT40 racers for £250k. That completes a line-up of three rather costly GT40 variants, but if our recent Showpiece is anything to go by, they’re not exactly set to depreciate…

Original story - 17.01.2019

You'll most probably be familiar with Superformance; it makes recreations of the 60s' sports car icons, from Corvettes to Cobras. Superformance's most recognised continuation cars, though, are its GT40s, a range that's now been added to with this 50th anniversary model.

Hang on; the GT40's first Le Mans victory was 1967, which is now more than 50 years ago. Yes, correct, but this car is a homage to chassis 1075, the winning Gulf GT40 from 1968 and 1969. Indeed that particular Mk1 GT40 raced for four years, with '68 and '69 of course the most notable.

As with all Superformance GT40s, this car isn't so much a replica as a doppelganger: more than 90 per cent of the parts are interchangeable with an original GT40, and the project has been coordinated by John Sadler of Safir GT40 Spares, holder of the GT40 trademark. The chassis is an exact replica of the first one, "stiffer than any other chassis on the market and made up of over 244 laser-cut or bent and pressed parts."

The Superformance GT40 does feature some concessions to modernity though, with air-con, an adjustable pedal box, Wilwood brake discs and suspension comprised of H&R springs with Bilstein dampers. Apparently it's "just as comfortable on the street as it is on the track" - we'll have to take their word for it.

Unique to this Superformance continuation though, and marking out the 50th anniversary car, is the 'Tool Room Reconfiguration' option pack. That brings with it Lexan windows, racing tanks and the graphics, so expect it to be taken up by the majority. Bizarrely, the Reconfiguration upgrade also adds a VIN number matching Gulf Racing Series guitar - see the YouTube video for all you need to know about those...

As for the car, Superformance will - appropriately enough - build 50 of these anniversary GT40s, priced at $179,995 for the standard car or $209,900 with the livery and electric guitar. It's been launched at Barrett Jackson's Scottsdale auction today, and available to order now - cooler than a regular £200k supercar, isn't it?