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Tribute to Alan Mann with detailed Ford F3L feature ...
Yesterday, the sad news of the passing of Alan Mann, at age 75, reached us. Although a driver himself, he will be best remembered for his days at the helm of Alan Mann Racing in the 1960s. Using Ford products, in his iconic red and gold livery, the team was very successful but for a relatively brief period. Cars used by AMR ranged from Cortinas and Mustangs to his very own Lightweight GT40s and they were campaigned all over Europe in events ranging from the Monte Carlo Rally to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 1968, Alan Mann embarked on the most ambitious project yet; the construction of a three litre prototype from scratch around the Ford Cosworth DFV Formula 1 engine with the help from GT40 designer Len Bailey. The result was the very slippery and achingly beautiful F3L. Unfortunately there was limited time and budget to develop the car properly, which hampered the F3L or P68 throughout its brief racing career. The car proved unreliable and it quickly garnered a reputation of being very dangerous at high speed due to the poorly developed aerodynamics. On the few occasions that it did work, the F3L was blisteringly quick. Following two disappointing seasons with the P68 and subsequent open P69, Alan Mann withdrew from racing completely.
Our feature car was restored by David Piper and later re-acquired by Alan Mann. He had the car fully sorted by AMR's former chief mechanic and it has since been regularly shown and raced. We captured the Alan Mann Ford F3L at Goodwood on three different occasions, with a mouth-watering 18-shot gallery as a result.
Enjoy the links:
1968 - 1969 Ford F3L - Images, Specifications and Information
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If you should see a man walking down a crowded street talking aloud to himself, don't run in the opposite direction, but run towards him, because he's a poet. You have nothing to fear from the poet - but the truth.
(Ted Joans)
Last edited by Wouter Melissen; 03-22-2012 at 04:49 AM.
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