Newly revealed archives shed light on Ford's 1966 assault on Le Mans, a story that continues to capture the imagination of the masses. The Ford-Ferrari wars pitted two of history's most powerful companies against each other in an epochal rivalry to win the greatest sports-car race on earth. It's a story that continues to capture the imagination of the masses.
Victory at Le Mans was something no American manufacturer had ever achieved. After the triumph in 1966, "it was checkered flags, Champagne, and chauffeur-driven cars," Ford driver Bruce McLaren once recalled. He and fellow winning driver Chris Amon were flown to the U.S. and picked up in a limo.
View Price on AmazonThe enormous Lincoln that collected us at New York airport was flying a New Zealand flag on one wing and the Stars and Stripes on the other, McLaren said (he and Amon were Kiwis). These documents from the Ford archives illustrate how wild the revelry grew.
A.J. Baime is the author of seven books, including Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans, and The Accidental President: Harry S. Truman and the Four Months that Changed the World. An R&T editor-at-large, he has driven cars on racetracks all over the U.S. and Europe, going back to 2007.
Source: roadandtrack.com
