The story of P2304 starts in the 70’s. From 1970 to 1976 my dad worked at Ghia / Ford of Italy. DeTomaso, Iacocca, the iconic Ghia designers such as Tjaarda, and even the man himself, Carroll Shelby all frequently drifted through our home over the years. My parents recall Shelby bringing Chili. My mother mostly drove a Mangusta, often interspersed with a Pantera or Deauville. Sort of depended on what was available at Ghia. My dad inexplicably mostly chose to drive a Maserati Mexico. My parents weren’t particularly “car people”, my dad’s background was finance. The cars and the men around them were not quite the legends they are today. It was an interesting childhood, but did not seem particularly noteworthy at the time.
Fast forward 40 years or so, and the passions ignited in the 70’s lead me to purchase a Superformance Cobra and a Viper GTS. Both cars with roots dating back to my youth. The GT40 was never particularly on my radar screen, it seemed unobtainable. Why bother to even consider it? Then I stumbled across the Fifth Gear video. “What’s this?”, I thought. I’m a Mk1 fan, so the original Superformance GT40 MkII, was not quite “it”. But when I saw the Wide Body GT40 Mk1, it was all over. My favorite car of all time is the Mangusta. However, I know them well and their shortcomings are a challenge. If Superformance made a Mangusta replica, that would be my car. Fortunately, they make something better in almost every way – the GT40 Mk1 Wide Tail.
In November of 2013 I sold my Superformance Cobra and Viper GTS to clear the way for a GT40. The deposit went in December of 2013. Today the “Production” payment went in and the car is expected to ship in early February. My goal is to have the car on the road for the Michigan spring.
P2304 has been configured as I would have ordered it if I could have in the 60’s. It will be a road car, Sunday driver, and causal/occasional show car. It may do one or two mild track days just to learn the car, but nothing competitive.
P2304 Details:
- Mk 1 Wide Tail
- LHD
- Monza Red
- No Strips, No Gurney Bubble
- Black BRMs with polished rims
- Roush 427IR
- RBT ZF
- Install by RM Motorsports of Wixom Michigan
As photos become available I’ll post them. For now a photo of my first GT40. A huge thank you to the Forum for teaching me so much about the GT40s over this last year of reading and waiting. I’ll certainly be putting a lot of what I learned into practice on my GT40.
More to come…
Fast forward 40 years or so, and the passions ignited in the 70’s lead me to purchase a Superformance Cobra and a Viper GTS. Both cars with roots dating back to my youth. The GT40 was never particularly on my radar screen, it seemed unobtainable. Why bother to even consider it? Then I stumbled across the Fifth Gear video. “What’s this?”, I thought. I’m a Mk1 fan, so the original Superformance GT40 MkII, was not quite “it”. But when I saw the Wide Body GT40 Mk1, it was all over. My favorite car of all time is the Mangusta. However, I know them well and their shortcomings are a challenge. If Superformance made a Mangusta replica, that would be my car. Fortunately, they make something better in almost every way – the GT40 Mk1 Wide Tail.
In November of 2013 I sold my Superformance Cobra and Viper GTS to clear the way for a GT40. The deposit went in December of 2013. Today the “Production” payment went in and the car is expected to ship in early February. My goal is to have the car on the road for the Michigan spring.
P2304 has been configured as I would have ordered it if I could have in the 60’s. It will be a road car, Sunday driver, and causal/occasional show car. It may do one or two mild track days just to learn the car, but nothing competitive.
P2304 Details:
- Mk 1 Wide Tail
- LHD
- Monza Red
- No Strips, No Gurney Bubble
- Black BRMs with polished rims
- Roush 427IR
- RBT ZF
- Install by RM Motorsports of Wixom Michigan
As photos become available I’ll post them. For now a photo of my first GT40. A huge thank you to the Forum for teaching me so much about the GT40s over this last year of reading and waiting. I’ll certainly be putting a lot of what I learned into practice on my GT40.
More to come…