1969 Ford GT40 No. 6 – Le Mans Limited Edition from Mulsanne Moments

Limited to just 33 in a special display and with engraved numbering on the front, this artwork features the 1969 GT40 that came at the end of an era and indeed the decade at Le Mans. With an iconic livery and stunning design, this car achieved a dramatic win, that would be remembered to this day and as such is a beautiful example of classic, Motorsport memorabilia.

This high quality IXO 1:43 scale replica model car is presented in a high quality 10-inch X 10-inch deep acrylic box frame with glass aperture cover and a custom limited edition design, detailing key information about this historic race car.

These beautiful examples were created by Mulsanne Moments creator James Garlick based on a lifetime obsession with Motorsport. Each piece is hand-made and is intended as an affordable piece of automobilia that preserves the story of each car and its driver(s).

The GT40 decimated Porsche’s chance to title rights at Le Circuit de la Sarthe and in 1969 fended off the Porsche 908 LH challenge for Porsche’s very first overall win, winning by just 120 metres on the last lap, in the most closely fought race in the history of Le Mans.

Due to previous serious injury and death, Jacky Ickx famously protested against the ‘Le Mans Start’ where by drivers sprinted across the track to their cars, the quickest off the mark gained advantage of an early lead. Ickx walked across the pit straight and casually strapped himself into the car, before starting in last place. Credit to Ickx and his concern as Brit John Woolfe sadly lost his life on the first lap of this very race in a 917 at Maison Blanche. He was thrown free of the car as it spun, rolled, hit an embankment, and exploded.

Entering the final hour and after their final pit-stops, both teams put their best drivers in the cars. Ickx and Herrmann were now on the same lap, barely 10 seconds apart. Porsche No.64 had fading brakes and an engine now 400 RPM down on power. The Ford GT40 No.6 suffered from exhaust problems, which made for a very even contest. In a dramatic finish, Ickx and Herrmann repeatedly overtook each other. Ickx knew if he led onto the Mulsanne straight, Herrmann would pass, but he could slipstream back past him before the Mulsanne corner and hope to hold a lead for the rest of a lap. Both cars crossed the line with less than a minute to go and had to go around the circuit one-more-time. The Ford had only ever done 23 laps on a tank of fuel, but now needed an extra lap. On the last lap, Ickx let Herrmann pass him early on the Mulsanne Straight, faking a lack of power from fuel starvation. Ickx used the slipstream of Herrmann to pass him again just before the end of the 5 km straight. Ickx then managed to hold on and beat Herrmann by a few seconds!!

The 1969 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 37th Grand Prix of Endurance, The winners were Jacky Ickx and Jackie Oliver, in this stunning example of the J.W. Automotive Gulf-Oil Ford GT40.