Sold: 1967 Ford GT40 Mk IV Continuation by Kar Kraft
Images: RM Sotheby’s by Drew Shipley
This 1967 Ford GT40 Mk IV Continuation by Kar Kraft is absolutely breathtaking. It sold earlier in the year at RM Sotheby’s’ Arizona sale for the princely sum of US$660,000, but that won’t stop us drooling over it!
The ultimate version of Ford’s Ferrari-killer, the GT40 Mk IV earned its spot in motorsport history in a golden age for sportscar racing with a 100% win record. It raced in the 1967 12 Hours of Sebring, which Mario Andretti and Bruce McLaren won, and then in the race it was designed for – the 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans, which Dan Gurney and A.J. Foyt won.
Only twelve Mk IV chassis were built, and Kar Kraft in the United States was responsible for them. This makes finding an original car with racing history a challenging and frighteningly-expensive proposition.
Saddened by the rarity of this magnificent machine and determined to give more people the opportunity to experience it, Mike Teske of Kar-Kraft LLC put together a crack team to recreate the Mk IV.
Four decades of research and support, including original Kar-Kraft engineering drawings and the input of people like Carroll Shelby, Edsel Ford II, Dan Gurney and many more involved in the original Mk IV program, was invested through a period of eight years to build a series of Kar-Kraft MK IVs.
“These cars are more than just steel-chassised cars that look like the original Mk IVs. They are, in all respects, exact duplicates of the originals. They are constructed to the same specifications and use the same techniques as the originals.” – World Registry of Cobras and GT40s
They are immaculate, rivet-perfect recreations of the originals complete with the honeycomb-aluminium riveted and bonded chassis, fibreglass bodywork and the monstrous 427-cubic inch V8 that blessed the original.
They’ve received worldwide recognition and are so good that the FIA has accepted them to compete alongside the originals.
This car is Chassis J-16 and was completed at the end of 2010 for Joe Henderson of North Carolina. It’s the fourth of seven continuations and the only one finished in this fetching Princess Blue with white stripes and red and blue accents.
It’s only raced once and qualifies for HSR and SCRA events. It’s sold with an FIA Historical Technical Passport to compete in historic meetings in Europe.
This exceptional machine sold at RM Sotheby’s’ Arizona sale for US$660,000 in January of 2015, and we’re jealous of its new owner! For more information head to RM Sotheby’s website here.
Images via RM Sotheby’s by Drew Shipley
