Hi guys, it's been a while since I've posted on the board and it's nice to be back. And thanks to Rick for being such an able 'go to' guy on posts associated with Superformance.
Wikipedia has a number of folks who have helped to update the GT40 entry in their online encyclopedia. In the past, Pathfinder Motorsports LLC contributed clarifications and entries, as well as a photograph of one of our first GT40Rs.
In conjunction with Superformance, Pathfinder Motorsports negotiated the right to use the name 'GT40R' from the trademark holder, Safir GT40 Spares, Inc. For those interested, we also looked at 'GT40LM' and a few other names, but agreed upon adding the simple 'R' suffix to the car design that we spec'ed from the factory.
There were numerous modifications stipulated by Pathfinder (significantly the six-point rollcage that we designed) along with unique components added to create the 'R' – most with the intention of creating a race-capable version of the popular Superformance street GT40. Dennis Olthoff was very helpful with several of the design issues and Lance Stander shepherded the process with the factory from beginning to end. The result is a car that is now racing in the US, Europe, and Asia.
I just checked Wikipedia and can't find the OP's quote, but now you know the backstory.
As for Cliff's snarky remarks, we market and build our cars to reflect the build-year that the owner intends to race their GT40. For example, a 1965 GT40R continuation car races under Period F in FIA, while a 1966 races under Period G. It is obligatory that an FIA HTP car reflect the year the original model raced, as do several non-FIA vintage racing bodies overseas. At no time do we claim that our customer-specified, factory-built, continuation GT40s are somehow also 45-years old. (This is quite different from, say, registering a replica CAV GT40 and making the claim that it is a '1966 GT40', as Cliff has done. We have no problem with that, but it does reflect a measure of hypocrisy as Cliff continues this perennial and quixotic crusade.)
By the way, we have one of our latest GT40Rs completing HTP FIA certification in Europe very soon, and hope to report on its racing successes in the coming year!
Alan