1967 Mirage M1

After the vice-president of Gulf Oil saw potential in the GT40 program with his personal car, he commissioned three lightweight versions for the 1967 season from JWA in Slough, England.

Unlike the regular GT40s these had a narrower roof rounded tail and more slab-sided bodywork. The side intakes were removed in favour of NACA ducts on the roof. Although the bodywork was different, the chassis and nose section of the car were all GT40.

Due to the new bodywork and not being ordered by Ford Motor Company, the cars were not named GT40, but Mirage M1s.

The Mirage debuted at the Le Mans trails and first raced in anger at the 1967 Monza 1000km. Both cars broke down, but 10 days later Jacky Ickx and Dick Thompson won the 1000km of SPA in the wet with a Holman & Moody 351 engine.

After losing one of the cars in an accident at the Nurburgring, the remaining two were entered in the 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans with the 305 engines. These couldn’t compete with the GT40 MkIVs and MkIIBs with their larger 427 engines.

Both cars retired with engine problems early at Le Mans and the CSI declared their 3-liter limit for Group 6 prototypes in 1968 year which effectively killed the Mirage project.

Nonetheless, Gulf/JWA continued with the remainder of the season, winning the Paris 1000km and Kyalami 9 Hours with Jacky Ickx driving.

For 1968 Gulf & JWA continued with their successful program using the Group4 Ford GT40 Mk I.

In Detail

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