ACL Ferrari 330 P4

On the track Ferrari's dominance was as big as ever both in the prototype and GT class, but across the Atlantic Ocean a scheme was designed to break the Scuderia's stronghold. At first Henry Ford tried to buy Ferrari, but when negotiations failed, Ford set out to design a car that could beat those 'fast little red cars' as he called them. With the Lola Mk 6 as base, the Ford GT made its debut at the 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Now fitted with a four litre engine, the 330 P proved both quicker and more reliable than the little tested Ford GT. With no Fords finishing, Ferrari scored an impressive 1-2-3. In the GT-class Ford scored a first success by beating the GTOs with the AC Cobra Daytona Coupe. No expense was spared on either side of the ocean and Ferrari wheeled out the new P2 which would face Ford's 7-litre GT40.

After 560 test laps at Daytona in December 1966, the P4 was ready for action. Two of the three P3s were fitted with P4 style bodywork and a Weber carbureted engine. Two unfinished 330 P3s were built up to the same specifications and dubbed 412 P. All four cars were sold to privateers, to back up the factory P4 effort. New from Ford at the 1967 24 hours of Le Mans was the Mk IV version of the GT40, featuring an American built aluminium-honeycomb monocoque and the familiar 7 litre V8.

All the testing at Daytona paid off as Ferrari dominated on Ford's home soil in the Daytona 24 hours race. The podium was filled by Ferrari drivers which underlined the Scuderia's dominance when the three winning cars crossed the line together. The first two were P4s and the third a P3.