The car is one of only 12 prototype Ford GTs produced by Ford between January 1964 and April 1965, with only five of them having convertible designs. In particular, this is the only GT40 Roadster to ever participate in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race for fame.
The GT40 Roadster prototype 1965 with the GT/109 designation, was donated to Shelby's team in March65 to prepare for the Le Mans race. To meet the requirements of the race, Shelby's team has made a number of important upgrades, including repainting the car with a white paint coating combined with the characteristic dark blue color.
This is one of five Ford GTs participating in Le Mans 1965, equipped with a standard Cobra 289-inch V8 engine and a ZF 5-speed manual transmission.
At the Le Mans race, this GT40 was driven by French trackers Maurice Trintignant and Guy Ligier. However, the car had to give up after the 11th round due to a broken gearbox.
After this event, the car was returned to Shelby American for repair and manufacture. A few years later, the GT40 was bought by famous American model developer Dean Jeffries.
In 2013, Dana Mecum, founder of Mecum Auctions, bought the car from Jeffries' son and restored it. This is the third time Mecum has tried to sell the car through his auction platform.
Previously, in 2018, the car was auctioned at Mecum Kissimmee but could not find a new owner. In 2020, Mecum continued to try to sell the car with the expectation of a auction price of 7.5 million to 10 million USD, however, this time was not successful. Now, Mecum hopes the third try will be lucky.
Meanwhile, the only remaining GT40 Roadster prototype, the GT/108, was sold at RM Sotheby's Monterey auction in 2019 for $7.65 million. Everyone is waiting to see if the GT/109 can surpass this price, or even achieve a higher number, at this auction event.
Certainly, the Ford GT40 Roadster prototype 1965 GT/109 will be one of the notable highlights at Mecum Auctions Indy, attracting the attention of collectors of luxury cars around the world.
