Anybody inside driving distance of Kissimmee, Florida, ought to head down in early January for the scheduled Mecum collector automotive public sale.

Why? As a result of an authentic Ford GT40 will cross the block, a 1966 Mk I that is certainly one of simply 31 road-going examples constructed.

Based on its itemizing, the automotive has solely 13,442 miles on the odometer, and has by no means been concerned in a crash. The automotive additionally has some provenance as certainly one of its homeowners was Italian racing driver Umberto Maglioli, a Porsche and Ferrari manufacturing facility driver and winner at prestigious occasions just like the 12 hours of Sebring and Targa Florio.

Mecum hasn’t talked about the chassis quantity however claims the automotive comes with its authentic construct sheet and a historical past file by famous GT40 professional Ronnie Spain. There’s additionally an in depth file of a earlier restoration dealt with by Germany’s Ruf.

1966 Ford GT40 Mk I – Picture credit score: Mecum

Like most Mk I GT40s, the automotive is powered by a 4.7-liter V-8 that options Weber carburetors and is mated with a 5-speed handbook transmission. The metallic blue automotive additionally options Borrani wire wheels and an inside lined in black leather-based.

The automotive is lot quantity R799.2 for the public sale which is able to run on Jan. 12. Followers of the trendy GT supercar might be handled with the public sale of a GT Mk II on the similar Mecum sale, scheduled for Jan. 13.

Any authentic GT40 is uncommon, with roughly 105 automobiles constructed throughout Mk I to Mk IV variations. The improved Mk II is the model that netted Ford its first Le Mans win in 1966, with Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon driving, whereas the redesigned Mk IV repeated the feat the next 12 months. The Mk III was a very-limited road-going model, of which simply seven have been constructed.

With so few constructed, authentic GT40s hardly ever come up on the market. Nonetheless, one other road-going Mk 1, the automotive that served because the official GT40 press automotive, got here up for personal sale solely in October, although its itemizing is not obtainable, suggesting it discovered a purchaser.