Mecum Auctions to Sell Only Ford GT Roadster That Raced at Le Mans
One year before its four consecutive victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 1966 to 1969, Ford entered this 1965 Ford GT Competition Prototype Roadster that was driven by French racers Maurice Trintignant and Guy Ligiera. No other GT Roadster was ever used in the legendary endurance race.
Sixty years later, the car will go up for sale as the star of the Mecum Auctions Indy 2025 event on May 17.
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Completed in March 1965 by Ford Advanced Vehicles (FAV) in Slough, England, GT/109 is one of 12 prototypes built by Ford between January 1964 and April 1965. Only five of the GT Competition Prototypes were Roadsters, with just GT/109 and sister car GT/108 surviving today. It was prepared for Le Mans by Shelby American and painted in Ford of France livery.
Following the race (a failed transmission forced it to drop out on lap 11), the car returned to Shelby American for a rebuild before Kar Kraft took possession of it and used it for the development of the history-making “J-Car.” American designer, custom car builder and Hollywood stuntman Dean Jeffries acquired it in 1968 and kept it until 2013.
A professional restoration by Harley Cluxton III brought the GT/109 to concours standards in the original Le Mans livery, which proved good enough to finish second in its class at the 2016 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance (behind the 1966 Le Mans winner). Mecum Auctions president Dana Mecum is the current owner but has decided it’s time to let it go.
Powering the 1965 Ford GT Competition Roadster is a 289-cubic-inch (4.7L) V8 mated to a five-speed manual transaxle. Both have been rebuilt, and the engine is fitted with the Shelby-supplied “Bundle of Snakes” exhaust utilized during testing.
Other period-correct components include, SEV Marchal Headlights over Cobra Daytona Coupe Cessna landing/driving lights and Halibrand magnesium wheels mounted with 1965 NOS stickered 550/15 and 700/15 Goodyear Sport Car Special Blue Streak tires. Interestingly, this car features an extremely rare NOS Ford GT Trico wiper blade and also Carroll Shelby’s signature ”On/Off” brake-light switch that is original to GT/109.
Mecum Auctions doesn’t list an estimated value, but we fully expect the winning bid to be several million dollars. Don’t miss the following video or the photo gallery at the top of the page to learn more and see more.
