Pathfinder GT40R at Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance

[Pathfinder Motorsports]

Pathfinder Motorsports was honored to have been invited by the organizers of the 2013 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance to display our Pathfinder-Superformance GT40R P/2091 this past Saturday. This year celebrated the ‘50th Anniversary of the GT40’ and on hand were several of the most famous GT40s ever raced, including P/1075. You can imagine how pleased we were to be the only non-vintage GT40 on exhibit (even if we weren't in the Concours competition).

It was a spectacular event, guys. A Ford GT40 seminar was held on Saturday with such GT40 luminaries as Dan Gurney, Brian Redman, David Hobbs, John Horsman (former John Wyer Racing Team Manager), and Pathfinder Motorsports’ building partner and engine builder Lee Holman (President of Holman Moody). It was a spell-binding and often hilarious discussion by these racing icons, and we were happy to later visit with Brian Redman and David Hobbs (both of whom provided advice several years ago during the time Pathfinder was developing the GT40R with Lance Stander and Superformance – Brian even arranged for his colleague and former F1 driver Davina Galica to test drive our prototype 'R' car!).

We were also delighted to meet with numerous friends from around the country – along with a few members of GT40s.com – who came to see this one-of-a-kind gathering of GT40s. Thanks to all who dropped by and we look forward to visiting with you at future events and races!

 

[Mark Charlton]

Alan,

I am sorry I missed the chance to get a closer look at your car, and to speak. It appeared very original looking with a nice patina when I walked around it taking photos. It took me longer than I care to admit to realize it wasn't an original. Nice work indeed.

I must say though that my heart skipped a beat when I took a closer look at my photos on my computer and realized that ALL the rear clip catches & pins were undone as the car was driving off on Saturday. I sure hope you caught that before getting too far down the road. The former owner of my car told me it can be quite an unpleasant experience to discover that WHILE you're gaining speed on the open road...

Mark

 

[Pathfinder Motorsports]

Mark:

Too bad we didn't get together at Amelia Island, but thanks for the nice photo of our car departing the display area. Your kind remarks were much appreciated; we work hard on the small details that lend authenticity to our cars, including the patina.

Oh, and not to worry about the clamshell latches: From all of the starting and stopping coming on and off the trailer and moving into our position, the battery required a jump-start. As we were asked to lead the parade of cars leaving the field, I asked one of the organizers to simply insert the safety-wired ceiling pin and leave the Hartwell latches undone while I stayed behind the wheel. Once off the field everything was locked up tight for the return back to Pathfinder Motorsports.

For those who weren't there, here are a few photos of the interior of the Pathfinder GT40R P/2091 – which is quite different from a standard Superformance GT40.

You can see the differences in such things as the seats, dash, center console, wheel, and fuse panel, along with a few other changes we make in pursuit of a more historic look and better driving car (and thats just the interior).

Thanks again for your post, Mark. Maybe we'll see you in Monterey!

 

[René]

nice touch those looks of the GT40-R