In early 1963, Ford Motor Company recieved word that Enzo Ferrari was interested in selling them his company. Since Henry had always wanted to get into the endurance racing scene, Partnering with this italian upstart to create road cars and competition machinery would be a dream come true. Ford reportedly spent several millions of dollars in an audit of Ferrari factory assets and legal negotiations, only to have Ferrari cut of talks at a late stage due to disputes about the ability to direct open wheel racing. Ferrari, who wated to remain the sole operator of his company's motor sports dicision, was angered when he was told that he would not be allowed to race at the Indianapolis 500 if the deal went through. Since Ford fielded Indy cars using its own engine, they didn't want to have to deal with competion from Ferrari.
After Enzo sent a furious Henry Ford packing, it seeming as though Enzo never had any intention to sell in the first place. Empty-handed on his return to Detroit, Ford's point man, Don Frey, was told by Henry Ford II to...
After some help from Carroll Shelby, Bruce Mclaren, and Roy Lunn to name a few, the infamous GT40 was born. In the 1966 La Mans, the team of GT40s went on to place 1-2-3 with the nearest Ferrari placing 8th, a distant 47 laps behind.