Review by CoMod Joerg of the Carrera DIGITAL 124 Ford GT40 Mk. II "No.5", 1966 (23762)"
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1966 was truly the GT40 Mk. II's big year, and Ford went on to win the World Championship. But what exactly happened at the 24-hour race at Le Mans, where the real 7-liter V8 prototype of the golden GT40 model was driven by Dick Hutcherson and Ronnie Bucknum?
This car had little to do with the actual outcome of the race, as it suffered from a faulty clutch and was 12 laps behind, but it rounded out Ford’s three-fold triumph. The actual miraculous transformation of water into wine … uh … from second to first, was orchestrated by Henry Ford himself. He had the two leading cars cross the finish line almost simultaneously, neck and neck. And all for a great promotional photo. However, this happened with the understanding that there could be no dead heat (i.e., two vehicles being declared winners). This led to confusion after the checkered flag, as each of the two teams believed itself to be the winner. According to the rules, however, the team that was in second place during the race—and crossed the finish line at the same time—was declared the winner. Both cars had the same average speed, but Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon’s car, in accordance with its starting number 2, had been positioned 20 meters behind the GT40 with starting number 1 at the start and had therefore covered 360 laps plus 20 meters in the 24-hour race!
That was unfortunate, because the runner-up, Ken Miles, could have won all the 24-hour races in the 1966 World Championship as a result.
Appearance:
I had already written in detail about the actual model in the article marking the re-release of the Form kit. So here’s a quick summary: The car looks true to the original and is rendered in great detail. In particular, I like the gold paint job with the pink-and-red markings much better in person than in various pictures on the internet.
Technical Details:
The modified guide keel, featuring an extended rotation angle, is installed in the “old chassis” in the guide keel and slider area.
Handling:
The new guide keel significantly improves handling once again. Tight turns, in particular, are no longer a nightmare, since the vehicle no longer drifts and locks up as easily when the guide keel hits its stop. Smooth and fast driving is really fun with this vehicle.
See you later,
CoMod Joerg
1966 was truly the GT40 Mk. II's big year, and Ford went on to win the World Championship. But what exactly happened at the 24-hour race at Le Mans, where the real 7-liter V8 prototype of the golden GT40 model was driven by Dick Hutcherson and Ronnie Bucknum?
This car had little to do with the actual outcome of the race, as it suffered from a faulty clutch and was 12 laps behind, but it rounded out Ford’s three-fold triumph. The actual miraculous transformation of water into wine … uh … from second to first, was orchestrated by Henry Ford himself. He had the two leading cars cross the finish line almost simultaneously, neck and neck. And all for a great promotional photo. However, this happened with the understanding that there could be no dead heat (i.e., two vehicles being declared winners). This led to confusion after the checkered flag, as each of the two teams believed itself to be the winner. According to the rules, however, the team that was in second place during the race—and crossed the finish line at the same time—was declared the winner. Both cars had the same average speed, but Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon’s car, in accordance with its starting number 2, had been positioned 20 meters behind the GT40 with starting number 1 at the start and had therefore covered 360 laps plus 20 meters in the 24-hour race!
That was unfortunate, because the runner-up, Ken Miles, could have won all the 24-hour races in the 1966 World Championship as a result.
Appearance:
I had already written in detail about the actual model in the article marking the re-release of the Form kit. So here’s a quick summary: The car looks true to the original and is rendered in great detail. In particular, I like the gold paint job with the pink-and-red markings much better in person than in various pictures on the internet.
Technical Details:
The modified guide keel, featuring an extended rotation angle, is installed in the “old chassis” in the guide keel and slider area.
Handling:
The new guide keel significantly improves handling once again. Tight turns, in particular, are no longer a nightmare, since the vehicle no longer drifts and locks up as easily when the guide keel hits its stop. Smooth and fast driving is really fun with this vehicle.
See you later,
CoMod Joerg
