1969 Ford GT40 MKIII Cold Start, Revs, Idle - P/1085

P/1085. 5L V8 with lightweight Gurney Eagle-Weslake alloy cylinder heads, four twin-choke Weber downdraft carburetors and the classic “Bundle of Snakes” exhaust. 479HP at 6,500 RPM. According to Mecum Auctions: "This GT40, Chassis No. P/1085, holds a very special position as it is, to our knowledge, the last of the unfinished GT40 chassis to be built at a later date. One of the original batch of approximately 105 chassis built by Abbey Panels in Coventry, England, it is one of 20 late-production GT40 chassis commissioned by Ford’s Dearborn headquarters in late 1966 for the planned MkIII road car program. However, because the complications and cost of converting full-race GT40 chassis to road specification drove the projected purchase price into the stratosphere, Ford decided to cancel the project. Only seven were eventually completed as MkIII versions, leaving 13 chassis unused, including P/1085, which is the last GT40 to be numbered in production sequence by Ford Advanced Vehicles. P/1085 was originally sold in 1969 through Sir Malcom Guthrie of England to Gil Jackson of Garden City, New York, as a rolling chassis. Jackson also purchased from Guthrie P/1009, which Guthrie had rebuilt using an Alan Mann Racing lightweight chassis (XGT-2). Both cars remained in Jackson’s care from 1969 until 2006, during which time he was able to acquire a large number of the components needed to complete the build of P/1085 to original specifications. Renowned marque expert Ronnie Spain first visited Jackson in 1990 to photograph and document both cars. A humorous entry in the 2008 edition of the GT40 Registry notes, “Pieces were being collected (over many years) but for those years the chassis has never been built up into a complete car. Jackson swore it would one day. As of the very end of the 20th century (12/99), it was reported that Jackson was still swearing.” Alas, Jackson never did build the car, instead selling the chassis and all components in 2006 to a friend, who finally commenced the build of P/1085. In 2007, Jonathan Turner of England purchased the still incomplete P/1085 and the associated parts. Turner shipped the chassis and the parts inventory to U.K. specialist Ian Jones’ Racing Fabrications of Lawshall, England, who completed the build and briefly test-drove the car on March 21, 2009. Three days later, historian Ronnie Spain was in attendance to witness Ian Jones hand the car over to Jonathan Turner. Commenting on the freshly-finished P/1085 in the June 2009 issue of Motorsport Magazine, Turner declared, “This is a real Indiana Jones story…(the car) sat in a crate as a chassis and complete set of parts for 40 years. I’d always wanted one of these and it’s just unbelievable to get this one. It has to be the most original GT40 in the world. Ian has done a brilliant job to build it; just about everything is totally original.” Jonathan Turner drove the car on its first track run in April 2009 during a Masters Series test day at the historic Donington Park circuit; he subsequently completed the 2009 Tour Auto series. It has since appeared under new ownership at numerous vintage and concours events, including the 2013 Goodwood Festival of Speed and the 2021 Elkhart Lake Concours d’Elegance. Wearing a livery combining light blue paint with white LeMans striping and roundels, P/1085 is powered by a period competition-spec 5.0L Ford V-8 engine equipped with lightweight Gurney Eagle-Weslake alloy cylinder heads, four twin-choke Weber downdraft carburetors and the classic “Bundle of Snakes” exhaust; 4-wheel all-independent suspension, vented 4-wheel disc brakes with 4-piston calipers and BRM-style knock-off wheels are standard GT40 equipment. P/1085 generates 479 HP at a conservative 6,500 RPM through an original-spec ZF 5-speed manual transaxle, perfectly suiting the car for reliable vintage racing. In 2011, the car was sold to a new owner by UK restoration specialist Lee Maxted-Page, who cared for the car thereafter and performed a comprehensive professional service in preparation for its sale in 2019. The chassis remains in spectacular “as-new,” unmodified condition and is eminently eligible for the most prestigious vintage racing and concours events around the world. The car’s in-depth documentation includes copies of the factory documents from the original chassis purchase, a Motor Sports Association FIA Historic Technical Passport allowing the car “to take part in international competitions,” photos of the chassis and components before and during the restoration, and letters from Ronnie Spain documenting the pre-restoration history and post-restoration reveal. Offered in period-correct, original condition, chassis P/1085 presents the opportunity to preserve a singularly important piece of automotive history, the only one of its kind."