<< Prev Page 2 of 2 To meet the American legal requirements, the Mk III was fitted with a revised nose. This featured higher mounted headlights. They were also bigger to house four circular lamps instead of the two square units previously used. The rear bodywork was also revised and lengthened to make room for the luggage box. To suit its road going needs, the interior was fully upholstered complete with leather seats. The central feature of the dashboard was the tachometer, while the speedometer was at the furthest corner of the instrument cluster.
Tasked with the construction of the Mk III was JW Automotive, which had taken over after Ford Advanced Vehicles had ceased operation at the end of 1967, effectively under the same management. The ties with Ford nevertheless remained close and the manufacturer was responsible for the marketing and distribution of the cars. In the United States, the car received a sticker price of $18,500, making it easily the most expensive Ford ever offered. This was also a full $2,000 more than the 'standard' GT40 competition cars.
As was never the case with earlier GT40 variants, Ford struggled to find buyers for the Mk III. The steep price did not help but a more serious issue was that the car still was not particularly suitable for use on the road. This despite of and, in some cases, also because of the modifications; the elaborate gear linkage unique to the Mk III made precise shifts virtually impossible. Contemporary road testers also complained about the quality of the finish and the poor reliability.
Eventually only seven Mk IIIs were built between 1967 and 1969 and even fewer were sold directly to a customer. Among these handful of customers was famous conductor Herbert von Karajan. Most of the others were retained by Ford for promotional purposes, while JW Automotive's John Wyer used one as his personal transport. << Prev Page 2 of 2
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GT40 Mk III
To meet the American legal requirements, the Mk III was fitted with a revised nose. This featured higher mounted headlights. They were also bigger to house four circular lamps instead of the two square units previously used. The rear bodywork was also revised and lengthened to make room for the luggage box. To suit its road going needs, the interior was fully upholstered complete with leather seats. The central feature of the dashboard was the tachometer, while the speedometer was at the furthest corner of the instrument cluster.