Earliest GT40 dated clay model photo found 6-11-63

[Richstang]

It's no secreat I have hunted for all development photos (Ford) that can be found on the web .

Attached is a photo dated from June 11th, 1963 showing the start of the full sized GT40 clay model.
On the same date there are about 4 renderings that were relaseed, with a red backgound.
They don't look like the same design, so I imgine there were more renderings made.

A few days later, on the 19th, the finished clay design is photographed completed in light blue metallic.
There apeear to be at least 10 images of that design per the identification numbers 1 - 10.
(I usually just find 8 views per designs from Ford)
To date I have only found S-6453 -1,-2,-3,-5,-6, &-10 (missing -4,-7,-8, &-9 and no others after -10)

These are the earliest photos found, so far, over many years of looking

[Side-Oilers]

Rich:   Great find!  Never saw a pix with those Ferrari-like side strakes. 

Ford beat Ferrari to that design by about 20 years!   

[Richstang]

Thanks Van, great to see your post!

It does have a Testarossa feel to the design. That Ford designer must have gone crazy in '84.
Maybe those side strakes would have helped slighly in the Mulsanne straight.

[propayne]

I love this sh!t - thanks for sharing.

- Phillip

[Richstang]

The first clay mock up had two design versions. A different design on each side (typical for the clay models)
One side strake on the left side and three strakes on the right side

It had the one piece canopy at the beginning, as we see in position of the body cut lines.


EDIT:
REMOVED FILE WITH 'LOLA COLLABORATON" NAME. Remaned as just ford date and code and attached same photo

[6R07mi]

Rich,
I would suggest the clay design work and the line art concept is the design work Ford initiated PRIOR to the discussions with Broadly and the Lola GT-MK6.
Le Mans was June 15~16th 1963 when the Ford contingent including Shelby, Lunn and Wyer observed the Lola run in the race.

I believe the Ford-Broadly contract discussions occurred post Le Mans, with the relationship beginning around August 1963?

So once the joint venture was arranged then they began to fit the Lola chassis design into the Ford Dearborn body design, and using the 2 Lola chassis to incorporate the Arning suspension design while the FAV-Lola design was completed.  Many describe the process as Ford took the Lola and made some modifications,
I rather describe it as a cross-pollicization i.e.  Broadly + Lunn + Dearborn Design Studio = Ford GT.

Interestingly the version #S-6428-5 dated 6-11-63  has the flip up cockpit canopy, rear side mounted radiators and flip up headlamps ( ala Mustang I design), and the rear chassis doesn't have any Lola influence,   yet.  This design shows more Lunn influence than Broadly, IMHO.

regards,  jim p

[honker]

Just for comparison in relation to post 4 & 5 above. Would the image with colour predate the upper black & white in this post ?

Mike

(upper image: Lola Cars...lower image Sports Car Graphic, May '63)

[Richstang]

Thanks for the reply Jim,

That image needs to be renamed, as you said we know Lola was NOT yet involved with the FORD GT development, at that point

I agree the Lola MK6 was developed independent of the Ford. They were both built to meets the GT race class requirements in Europe. The Lola appeared at the January 1963 London Motor show in what appears to be a complete finished street car. There are photos of it racing in May at both Silverstone (11th) and at the Nurburgring (19th) ) before Le Mans in June. I have no doubt Ford was studying it as they designed their own GT version.  According to 'Racing Sports Cars', the last race Lola itself was in, was Le Mans in June, where it was a DNF. After that the car was raced by others outside the company.

A four page blue letter 'Ford Executive Communication' from December 1963, concurs with your post on the time frame of the development. It appears Ford start developing the working Ford GT version around September 1963. By the end of October 1963, Lunn , Mclaren, and Wyer are pictured tested the Lola bodied car at Monza.

photos of revised July '63 clay model in next post

[Richstang]

A few weeks after the first clay design (pictured in the original post), on July 11, 1963 we see pictures of a revised Ford GT design.

This next version is labeled as S-6500 –1 through at least -11. (I'm missing the images for -1 and -6) They revised both sides to include the three strakes as one single design. The Ford designers added an intake vent above the rear tires and push the exhaust tips out further away from the center of the rear. Otherwise it looks very similar. It still appears to have the canopy where the driver entered the cockpit, as shown in the cut lines. No doors ...yet.

The next revision of the design does not appear publically until early October 1963.
By then it appears to have lost the canopy, gaining the famous winged doors.

[Side-Oilers]

Rich, great additional finds!

The rear shot had me wondering how Ford sourced such wide tires for it. This was many years before low-profile street tires were available. (I realize some show car tires are created as one-offs, but Ford's SOP in 1963 and earlier era seems to have been to use standard tires for in-house design studies.)

Then it dawned on me: That's a tiny car...so even the skinny tires of 1963 looked big!