Turns out a ‘near-perfect’ replica of a 1966 GT40 MkII by Superformance is just the thing to leave Drivetribe’s Jethro Bovingdon almost speechless…
“I’d like to say I’m forward thinking enough that I don’t romanticise about ‘the good old days’. And normally that’s true. But…[various noises we’re unsure how to spell]…just look at this car. For me, this is what perfection looks like.”
That should just about sum up DriveTribe editor-at-large Jethro Bovingdon’s thoughts on the Superformance MkII GT40 that stars in this latest video, and it’s difficult to blame him for that. And let’s be honest, given that the motoring world has recently gone potty for the ‘lost’ nine Jaguar XKSS’, ‘missing six’ Lightweight E-Types, the 25 ‘continuation’ Aston Martin DB4 GTs, and their respective multi-million dollar prices tags, here’s clearly not alone in that regard. A winning return to Le Mans for the GT40 after a four decade-hiatus didn’t hurt either.
Unlike Aston and Jaguar’s ‘continuation models’ though, the Gt40 Jethro spends a great deal of time hooning around by the collar studs is something a little different. For starters, it’s actually built by Superformance – not Ford – based out of South Africa, and rather than plugging eon-old gaps in prodytion lines, it’s a ‘near perfection’ replica of the MkII GT40 – driven by Chris Amon and Bruce McLaren – that got the Blue Oval’s La Sarthe ball rolling in 1966. These are no copy-paste bodge-jobs either, with Shelby’s official dealer in the US actually selling them as rolling chassis. The name ‘GT40’ is legally applicable as is the GT40/P chassis number. Even the (fibreglass) bodywork – or two-thirds of it at least – is interchangeable with that of an original 1966 MkII, so precise is its replication.
The drivetrain couples a five-speed ZF manual transmission with a 7-litre Rousch V8 that produces ‘somewhere around 558bhp’. Yes, it’s a small block, but calm your ever-rocketing pulse rates, big block V8s are also available for a slightly larger chunk of cash. And on that note, care to take a guess how much this particular Superformance MkII GT40 will set you back…?
…nope, not even close. It’s actually $180,000. Hardly spare change you’ll find down the back of the sofa, but compared with a ‘lost’ $2 million Jaguar E-Type, it’s a bargain.
So, yeah, if you thought Jethro had got all the random noises out of his system in his intro, you’re badly mistaken…
