A rare opportunity to own one of the original Ford GT40 prototypes is coming up soon. The 2025 edition of Mecum's annual auction in Indianapolis, scheduled for May 9-17, will see a 1965 Ford GT40 Roadster prototype go under the hammer.
The car, which bears chassis number GT/109, is one of 12 prototypes for the GT40 built between 1964 and 1965. Five of those prototypes were roadsters, and GT/109 is the only roadster to race in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It competed in the 1965 race, with Maurice Trintignant and Guy Ligier as drivers, but retired after the 11th lap due to gearbox troubles.
GT/109 is one of only two surviving roadster prototypes. The other, bearing chassis no. GT/108, went up for auction in 2019, fetching a final bid of $7,650,000. It wasn't unusual for the GT40 prototypes to be used for testing and later scrapped. Even the first two GT40 prototypes built, GT/101, the example shown at the 1964 New York auto show, and GT/102, were both scrapped after being used for crash testing.
In its current specification, the car features a HiPo 289 V-8 engine that has been rebuilt and includes a Ford/Shelby experimental intake manifold, plus the original Shelby-designed "Bundle of Snakes" exhaust system.