Two European Engineers Laughed at an American Truck Engine - Then It Ran 5,232 km in 24 Hours

On 10 June 1967, at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Ottavio Brenna, a 49-year-old engine designer from Modena, and his wife Philippa, a 44-year-old English chassis and brake engineer, stood behind the pit wall and laughed at Ford's red Mark IV. Ottavio called its 7 litre V8 a truck engine, with push rods and two valves per cylinder, needing nearly twice the engine of the Ferrari 330 P4 across the pit lane. Philippa said the car had been born in England and would burn through its brakes before midnight. At Daytona, Hollis Dade, a Ford engine builder from Lubbock, Texas, had told them to come to France and bring a stopwatch. In 44 years of Le Mans, no car had covered 5,000 km. The Mark IV grew out of the J-car Ken Miles was testing at Riverside when he crashed in August 1966. It was designed and built in Michigan. Dan Gurney and A.J. Foyt drove it slower than it could go, braking early, and won: 5,232 km in 24 hours at an average of 218 km/h, about 135 mph. On the podium Gurney sprayed the crowd with champagne, something no winner had done before. Chapters 0:00 Laughing at the Ford 0:47 The Modena Engine Man 1:48 Philippa, the Brake Engineer 2:20 Ferrari's Revenge at Daytona 3:05 Meeting Hollis Dade 4:21 The Drive to Le Mans 5:24 A Push-Rod Ford V8 6:55 Brakes Gone by Midnight 7:42 The Story of Ken Miles 9:14 The 5,000 km Wager 10:25 Built to Be Bored 11:28 Gurney, Foyt and the Plan 12:41 The Le Mans Start 14:00 Midnight at the Mulsanne 14:35 Three Fords Crash 15:33 Parkes Chases at Dawn 16:53 The Record and the Podium