Famous 1966 Le Mans Ford GT40 to be auctioned in August

One of the most important Ford GT40s built is coming up for auction. The car carrying the chassis number P/1016 was one of the GT40s raced at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans, where Ford secured its first Le Mans victory with a 1-2-3 finish. After 348 laps, the car wearing the number 5 finished third, driven by Americans Ronnie Bucknum and Dick Hutcherson; the two cars ahead were driven by Bruce McLaren/Chris Amon and Ken Miles/Denny Hulme.

You might have seen this very car in an episode of The Grand Tour, which dedicated a segment on the GT40's troubled birth and eventual Le Mans success. After Le Mans '66, P/1016 was also raced in Daytona in 1967 and used for Le Mans testing that year, before being retired from competition usage. It was thoroughly restored back to its 1966 guise in 2003, and ever since it's appeared at events such as Le Mans Classic, the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este, and the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, where it won the People's Choice award in 2003.

P/1016 will be auctioned at RM Sotheby's California auction in Monterey at the end of August, but before that it will be displayed for two weeks at Sotheby's New York headquarters, starting on June 21. The car is estimated to bring in $9 million to $12 million, reflecting its legendary status among GT40s.

Related Video: