I bought a Gt-40 6 weeks ago after an 12 month search for an exotic car. I looked at Ferraris 360s and Lambos Gallardos. I have owned 5 Ferraris and 12 Porsches ,a Maserati ,a Pantera, XKEs, and numerous other makes and I I must admit I have gotten tired of making contributions to dealers, parts suppliers, and mechanics 401K and college funds. The expense of keeping these boys up just keep getting ridiculous, so I centered in on looking at a SPF GT-40... A friend of mine has one and he invited me up to check it out.. After seeing if I would fit, the ease of entry and exit (yea), and playing around in it, it was something I wanted to experience... I must admit, being able to go to the local NADA parts store for "cheap" parts, and being able to call my local mechanic and not driving 4 to 6 hours for a "factory approved service shop" made a GT-40 more appealing... I found serial# 2183, a 2007 MKII, titanium with black stripes, 427 FE, 560 HP, Shelby spec engine, ceramic coated headers, transmission cooler, and zf transaxle with 1024 miles. It took a couple of months of "making offers he could refuse" and we finally came to a deal... I drove it for two weeks just getting use to the raw power of the car , checking things out and being careful... I talked to Dennis Olthoff at Olthoff Racing and decided to take it to him and do some mods and updates he suggested. The wiring and A/C mods, checking the hand brake, wheel bearing, and going over the car. Paul Whitlock , did the work and he is a true professional. Very detailed and his knowledge about theses cars is endless.... I got her back and have been driving it about an hour a day... mostly on back roads getting use to way the car handles under full power and take offs. I must admit, I am getting real good at launches without much wheel spin !!!!To compare a Ferrari or Porsche to a SPF GT-40 is like a rain storm to a tornado.... F and P cars are well build, solid cars that are mild to drive in comparison to a 2400 lb beast with 560 HP.... The sound, the look and the over all ambience of a F car is hard to beat... A Porsche does everything right at the right time and is understated elegance with out fan fair.... The Gt-40 does it with a big boy attitude, loud, screaming " here I come attitude".....If you think Ferraris get attention, drive down main street or go to a mall or try a drive thru at Burger King and you can create a local one man show.... Stop for gas, and it turns into an event.... The car can draw a crowd in a heart beat just like a Ferrari... I have gotten the same three questions I use to get in my Ferraris....What is it ?? How fast will it go ??? and How much did it cost ???? In second gear at 6000 rpms you scare small children and grandmothers to death in a school zone...Not for the shy and timid !!!!!! The car is so short in height and cars can not see you behind another one and they cut in front of you..... One learns this very quickly....To compare the cars one can expect refined elegance, excellent quality control in the new F and P cars. Creature comforts that make a road trip comfortable and very enjoyable... The GT-40 is not a close second in the world of a long road trips . The torque will give you detached retinas from 0 to 100 mph, the bundle of snake exhaust will will melt the wax in you ears after 50 miles, its so low to the ground one sits on the curb and rolls in, and you have better like the one you are with, because you sit really, really close. You want to make sure the air works really well, because it gets warm in the cabin even in the winter and your Band deodorant will start to break down.... Do you need a car like this ???? NO... Do you want a car like this .... YES........I love it and every time I get in it, push the start button, the hairs on my neck stand up and my neighbors windows start to rattle as I blast out of the neighborhood...I have done the NASCAR experience at Darlington, and driving this GT-40 is as close as you are going to get to that thrill.... It is demanding and exhilarating to drive, and stunning in appearance... Knowing what I know now, I would buy it again because I have not had this much fun in a car in a long time.......It requires a little work in just keeping an eye on things, make sure screws are tight, no loose hoses and stopping a few water leaks when you get caught in a down pour.....Oh well, I am off for another drive to scare widows and skate boarders on Main Street...................................... LATER :shy:
Compare my SPF GT-40 to a Ferrari
- Thread starter Fearless Shifter
- Start date
Hi Marshall,
P2125 here (another FE Shelby).
As past and present owner of other exotics like you I agree with your comparisons and observations.
Only exception is that I find the 40 as comfortable (seat angle/pedals/steering wheel and MY visability out) as my Porsche RS60 on long trips (200mile Sunday runs). I'm 5'8" and 160#, wife small too so that may be why.
Agree re Olthoff and Paul W's ability and attitude.
Like you I love the car now 2+ yrs with it and 5K miles since new.
I like tinkering and just added Olthoff's new door lever releases and brake cooling kit.
Keep us appraised as you get more seat time.
Regards, Steve
Welcome.
Steve
P2125 here (another FE Shelby).
As past and present owner of other exotics like you I agree with your comparisons and observations.
Only exception is that I find the 40 as comfortable (seat angle/pedals/steering wheel and MY visability out) as my Porsche RS60 on long trips (200mile Sunday runs). I'm 5'8" and 160#, wife small too so that may be why.
Agree re Olthoff and Paul W's ability and attitude.
Like you I love the car now 2+ yrs with it and 5K miles since new.
I like tinkering and just added Olthoff's new door lever releases and brake cooling kit.
Keep us appraised as you get more seat time.
Regards, Steve
Welcome.
Steve
where do you live Marshall?
#21 
This story comes from the 05/18/09 issue of AutoWeek magazine. If you have not read it I thought you all might enjoy it... Fearless Shifter
By MARK VAUGHN
Unlike the originals, the Superformance Shelby CS GT40 has air conditioning.Only a short drive from the Superformance company headquarters, the road opened up: five lanes wide, fields on either side, clear vision and no traffic.
"Go ahead, open it up," said Superformance CEO Lance Stander, who owned the very GT40 we were driving and was ready to assume some sort of risk, presumably.
So we opened it up.
Pandora and her famous box had nothing on this car. The massive, angry Roush 427 strapped on behind us like an iron-block backpack suddenly opened its big bowls of Holley and barked out all 550 hp, half of which seemed to go to glorious noise and the other half to slingshotting us down the roadway as if it were a crazed nuclear pellet gun.
"Mulsanne!" we bleated, mostly because neither we nor anyone we know can pronounce "ligne droite des Hunaudi�res" with any kind of manly flair, especially with all the excitement of that 550 hp mentioned above.
It was hard to decide which was more sensational, the tremendous lengths of pavement being eaten up exponentially below us or the deafening staccato roar of the mighty Roush Performance 427R. In either case, God bless Jack Roush. And bless Superformance while you're at it. And let's not forget to thank Henry Ford II, who got the ball rolling on the GT40 project 46 years ago; Lola chief designer Eric Broadley, who built the first GT40s; great drivers such as (bow your heads) Dan Gurney, Lloyd Ruby, Bruce McLaren, Jackie Ickx and--
Oh, man, ain't it crazy all the stuff that goes through your mind in the four or five seconds before you run out of road? A picture of Most Superformance customers choose a Roush V8 for their cars. Most Superformance customers choose a Roush V8 for their cars.
Sure, the car was awkward to drive in many ways. Visibility out the back was mostly blocked by the air filter of the big V8. Rear three-quarter vision is not really what you could call vision, either. Little round rearview mirrors sort of allow you to see before making a lane change, but mostly you're trusting to providence. Seating is way reclined, as in a race car. Even at more than six feet tall, we had to reach way down to access the pedals, and then the effort required to operate them was prodigious. Those original racing heroes were something else. Stander says that each of those points can be addressed to an owner's specifications.
Steering and pedal efforts were likewise beefy. There's no power assist here, but then, there was none in '66, either. The suspension was firm and kept the car on the ground and tracking true through wildly fast sweeping curves. The shocks matched the springs just about perfectly. Despite the minimized ride height, there was no sense here, as there often is in "kit" and tuner cars, that the shocks were left stock and the springs were just there to lower the car for looks. This is a solid machine you could race all weekend and then drive home. There's even air conditioning--which the original racing heroes didn't have.
We have never driven a real GT40 (or a real Porsche RS Spyder, Ferrari GTO or any F1 car--hint hint, reader-owners), but this car has to be the closest most normal humans will get to that feeling. The Superformance GT40 was designed and built with meticulous attention to historical detail, as close as possible to the original race cars that first won at Le Mans 43 years ago.
Superformance makes a couple of versions of the GT40, along with Shelby Cobra and Shelby Daytona Coupe replicas, which transport drivers back in time to the era when these great behemoths ruled the racetrack. The design is so close to the original, in fact, that Superformance says 90 percent of the parts are interchangeable between original and replica. A picture of Pedal effort can be adjusted to the owner's liking. Pedal effort can be adjusted to the owner's liking.
The chassis is steel semi-monocoque, with a steel roof and Gurney bubble for the driver's dome. Front and rear body panels are fiberglass. Front suspension is unequal-length A-arms in front and trailing and unequal-length arms in back. Our car had CR6ZZ Avons, 215/60ZR-15 in front and 295/50ZR-15 in back.
While you can get any number of engines, most customers choose a Roush V8 mated to an RBT five-speed manual transaxle.
The particular model we were in was a Shelby CS GT40 85th Commemorative Edition, built to celebrate the 85th birthday of the old Snakemeister himself. As you may recall, Carroll Shelby was the guy whose GT40s finished 1-2 at the 1966 Vingt-Quatre Heures du Mans. Superformance makes versions of all three of the Shelby GT40s from that year's race. Ours was the one driven by Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon.
Time travel is not cheap, however. A regular Superformance GT40 replica starts at $79,900 without engine and transaxle. While it's still less than the millions you could pay at auction, our Carroll Shelby commemorative stickered at $109,999. Engines range from $12,000 to more than $37,000. Installation, which you probably want done right, is another $8,000 or $10,000. Our car as tested was $135,834. Which is still (you could tell the spouse) less than a tenth of what a real GT40 would cost.
When you think about it, that's actually pretty cheap for time travel. A picture of Rear vision in the Superformance Shelby CS GT40 is limited, but you'll want to keep your eyes forward. Rear vision in the Superformance Shelby CS GT40 is limited, but you'll want to keep your eyes forward.
2009 SUPERFORMANCE SHELBY CS GT40
ON SALE: Now
AS-TESTED PRICE: $135,834
DRIVETRAIN: 5.8-liter, 550-hp, 535-lb-ft V8; RWD, five-speed manual
CURB WEIGHT: 2,400 lb
0-60 MPH: 3.2 sec (mfr
This story comes from the 05/18/09 issue of AutoWeek magazine. If you have not read it I thought you all might enjoy it... Fearless Shifter
By MARK VAUGHN
Unlike the originals, the Superformance Shelby CS GT40 has air conditioning.Only a short drive from the Superformance company headquarters, the road opened up: five lanes wide, fields on either side, clear vision and no traffic.
"Go ahead, open it up," said Superformance CEO Lance Stander, who owned the very GT40 we were driving and was ready to assume some sort of risk, presumably.
So we opened it up.
Pandora and her famous box had nothing on this car. The massive, angry Roush 427 strapped on behind us like an iron-block backpack suddenly opened its big bowls of Holley and barked out all 550 hp, half of which seemed to go to glorious noise and the other half to slingshotting us down the roadway as if it were a crazed nuclear pellet gun.
"Mulsanne!" we bleated, mostly because neither we nor anyone we know can pronounce "ligne droite des Hunaudi�res" with any kind of manly flair, especially with all the excitement of that 550 hp mentioned above.
It was hard to decide which was more sensational, the tremendous lengths of pavement being eaten up exponentially below us or the deafening staccato roar of the mighty Roush Performance 427R. In either case, God bless Jack Roush. And bless Superformance while you're at it. And let's not forget to thank Henry Ford II, who got the ball rolling on the GT40 project 46 years ago; Lola chief designer Eric Broadley, who built the first GT40s; great drivers such as (bow your heads) Dan Gurney, Lloyd Ruby, Bruce McLaren, Jackie Ickx and--
Oh, man, ain't it crazy all the stuff that goes through your mind in the four or five seconds before you run out of road? A picture of Most Superformance customers choose a Roush V8 for their cars. Most Superformance customers choose a Roush V8 for their cars.
Sure, the car was awkward to drive in many ways. Visibility out the back was mostly blocked by the air filter of the big V8. Rear three-quarter vision is not really what you could call vision, either. Little round rearview mirrors sort of allow you to see before making a lane change, but mostly you're trusting to providence. Seating is way reclined, as in a race car. Even at more than six feet tall, we had to reach way down to access the pedals, and then the effort required to operate them was prodigious. Those original racing heroes were something else. Stander says that each of those points can be addressed to an owner's specifications.
Steering and pedal efforts were likewise beefy. There's no power assist here, but then, there was none in '66, either. The suspension was firm and kept the car on the ground and tracking true through wildly fast sweeping curves. The shocks matched the springs just about perfectly. Despite the minimized ride height, there was no sense here, as there often is in "kit" and tuner cars, that the shocks were left stock and the springs were just there to lower the car for looks. This is a solid machine you could race all weekend and then drive home. There's even air conditioning--which the original racing heroes didn't have.
We have never driven a real GT40 (or a real Porsche RS Spyder, Ferrari GTO or any F1 car--hint hint, reader-owners), but this car has to be the closest most normal humans will get to that feeling. The Superformance GT40 was designed and built with meticulous attention to historical detail, as close as possible to the original race cars that first won at Le Mans 43 years ago.
Superformance makes a couple of versions of the GT40, along with Shelby Cobra and Shelby Daytona Coupe replicas, which transport drivers back in time to the era when these great behemoths ruled the racetrack. The design is so close to the original, in fact, that Superformance says 90 percent of the parts are interchangeable between original and replica. A picture of Pedal effort can be adjusted to the owner's liking. Pedal effort can be adjusted to the owner's liking.
The chassis is steel semi-monocoque, with a steel roof and Gurney bubble for the driver's dome. Front and rear body panels are fiberglass. Front suspension is unequal-length A-arms in front and trailing and unequal-length arms in back. Our car had CR6ZZ Avons, 215/60ZR-15 in front and 295/50ZR-15 in back.
While you can get any number of engines, most customers choose a Roush V8 mated to an RBT five-speed manual transaxle.
The particular model we were in was a Shelby CS GT40 85th Commemorative Edition, built to celebrate the 85th birthday of the old Snakemeister himself. As you may recall, Carroll Shelby was the guy whose GT40s finished 1-2 at the 1966 Vingt-Quatre Heures du Mans. Superformance makes versions of all three of the Shelby GT40s from that year's race. Ours was the one driven by Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon.
Time travel is not cheap, however. A regular Superformance GT40 replica starts at $79,900 without engine and transaxle. While it's still less than the millions you could pay at auction, our Carroll Shelby commemorative stickered at $109,999. Engines range from $12,000 to more than $37,000. Installation, which you probably want done right, is another $8,000 or $10,000. Our car as tested was $135,834. Which is still (you could tell the spouse) less than a tenth of what a real GT40 would cost.
When you think about it, that's actually pretty cheap for time travel. A picture of Rear vision in the Superformance Shelby CS GT40 is limited, but you'll want to keep your eyes forward. Rear vision in the Superformance Shelby CS GT40 is limited, but you'll want to keep your eyes forward.
2009 SUPERFORMANCE SHELBY CS GT40
ON SALE: Now
AS-TESTED PRICE: $135,834
DRIVETRAIN: 5.8-liter, 550-hp, 535-lb-ft V8; RWD, five-speed manual
CURB WEIGHT: 2,400 lb
0-60 MPH: 3.2 sec (mfr
Marshall,
You are the owner of the color hardest to see on the road and more apt to have your brakes and superior reflexs checked. I thought black was the hardest color to see on the road, but the color black is only a part time job....keeping clean (I have 3). I live in Asheville. My MkII is red and is powered by a NOS Ford 427 FE. Welcome to the pack.
You are the owner of the color hardest to see on the road and more apt to have your brakes and superior reflexs checked. I thought black was the hardest color to see on the road, but the color black is only a part time job....keeping clean (I have 3). I live in Asheville. My MkII is red and is powered by a NOS Ford 427 FE. Welcome to the pack.
Jack Houpe
GT40s Supporter
Marshall I also have owned many cars and still have a couple in my collection, I think the closest to the GT40 in performance was a Euro Diablo I had, it did have many luxuries that the GT40 does not, although I spend a great deal of time fixing it, most were factory recall items but I got tired of working on it all the time. The GT40 performance is better but its 1000 lbs lighter and with little comforts, I am willing to sacrifice these comforts for reliability as there are to many projects to focus on. I have driven my Ferrari's and lambos on the track a considerable amount but they never had the torque that this monster delivers, to this day its the only car that scares me in performance and my abilities. I will be racing at Big Bend this coming month, the only thing I regret about the car is it has to low of a ring and pinion gear in the transaxle. Someday I hope to get a 3.77 with a .642 5th gear so I can cruse at 150 without a care. 
