Item Tag Black

This beautiful and elegantly designed shirt pays tribute to all things vintage racing. Ford Motor Company's aggressive plan to succeed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and beat Ferrari finally came to fruition in June of 1966. In 1963, Ford was involved in negotiations to take over Ferrari. Ferrari was struggling financially and needed to maintain its racing operations, and Ford saw Ferrari as a potential partner to help develop its sports car program. Ferrari ended the negotiations very late in the process, costing Ford significantly in legal and auditing fees involved in the takeover. The GT40 program was born from a collaboration between Ford and Lola, with the cars manufactured in the UK. After an extensive racing, testing and development regime in 1964 and 1965 under the guidance of Carroll Shelby, the cars were finally competitive and reliable by 1966. The black #2 GT40 Mark II was prepared and entered into the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans by Shelby American. The car was powered by Ford's big block 7-liter (427 cubic inches) V8 and piloted by New Zealanders Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon. The #2 GT40 Mark II won the race, completing 360 laps and covering a distance of 3009 miles at an average speed of 125.4 miles per hour. Ford locked out the podium with 2nd place going to Shelby American's #1 GT40 Mark II, and 3rd place going to Holman & Moody's #5 GT40 Mark II. This podium sweep was a sign of things to come as the GT40 ended Ferrari's 6-year winning streak at Le Mans and began its own 4-year winning streak through 1969. Multi-color print on a Black 6.0 oz Pre-shrunk 100% cotton shirt. Double-needle stitched neckline, bottom hem and sleeves. Quarter-turned. Taped neck and shoulders. Seamless seven-eighths inch collar. Satin tear away label. Free shipping within the continental United States! PLEASE see my other items for YOUTH / KID's sizes.