Lot 200: Ford P68 F3L

At the end of the 1967 season the FIA revised the rules for sports car racing. Engine capacity was limited to 3 litres for the lightest, most advanced Group 6 sports prototype class, while a new 5 litre Group 4 Sports Car class was introduced for models of which at least 50 examples had been built. Ford's American operation withdrew from sports car racing at the end of 1967, leaving those teams committed to running the aging GT40 without factory support. While some teams, such as JWA, decided to go down the Group 4 Sports Car route and so began work on updating the GT40, Alan Mann Racing however decided to build a brand new prototype car around Ford Europe's recently introduced Cosworth DFV 3-litre V8 F1 engine. Raising sponsorship from Ford Europe, as well as Burmah-Castrol and Goodyear, AMR procured the services of leading Ford aerodynamicist Len Bailey, who had designed much of the GT40's bodywork, to work on their new car. Whilst the car was built to Group 6 regulations, its interpretation was perhaps rather liberally interpreted, exploiting the regulations to produce what is generally regarding as one of the most beautiful Sports Prototypes ever built Bailey's lateral concept created a sleek bodywork with an extremely low, long, curvaceous, aerodynamically efficient design. That allowed the Cosworth DFV powerplant to push the P68 to over 350km/h, faster than contemporary Formula One cars. However, Bailey's pursuit of aerodynamic efficiency came at the expense of driver comfort. In order to keep the P68 on the road, Bailey incorporated a patented, vortex-generating tail scoop, intended to create downforce without adding to drag. This lack of drag was compromised at the expense of high speed stability that was not fully overcome in the cars short competition life. Underneath the curvaceous bodywork, the chassis was a riveted, aluminium monocoque, with steel bulkheads onto which the suspension components were mounted. The DFV engine was supported in an aluminium cradle behind the driver. Unlike the Lotus 49 for which the DFV had been designed, the engine was not used as a structural chassis member. In contrast, the suspension layout was almost a direct copy of contemporary F1 practice. The radiator was mounted in the nose and fuel was stored in two deformable cells, one in each sill. The first competition appearance of a Ford P68 F3L prototype was at the BOAC 500 race at Brands Hatch in March 1968. Even this early in its career, the P68 had started to grow spoilers and air dams at its front and rear. Two cars were entered, for Bruce McLaren and Denny Hulme, and Jochen Rindt and Mike Spence. However, the two cars were relatively untested, with one actually being brand new, and teething troubles beset the weekend. Although initially slow during practice, gradual tuning and tweaking meant that by the end of qualifying McLaren had managed to put in a lap fast enough to take second place on the grid, splitting the works Porsche 907s . Unfortunately, the Rindt/Spence car had suffered an engine mount failure and failed to qualify. Spence, something of a Brands Hatch specialist, was substituted into the lead car for the race, and was at the wheel, leading the race, when a rubber joint in the transmission failed, putting the car out. Although neither car had finished, the pace and performance while running looked to be promising for the future. Chris Irwin was drafted in for the F3L's next race: the 1968 1000km Nürburgring. He lost control of his car at the Flugplatz after hitting a hare during practice, the car being damaged beyond repair in time for the race. Mechanical gremlins saw the remaining F3L failing to finish this gruelling event. Whilst his was to be the pattern during the remaining races for which the F3L was entered during 1968, one tantalising highlight occurred when Frank Gardner, who performed much of the F3L's limited developmental testing, took an impressive pole position at the 1000km Spa race. Whilst the potential was clear to see, the lack of development forced Alan Mann to get back to the drawing board, opting to go with the P69 for the 1969 season. The on offer from Coys under Private Treat is the Nurburgring car, Chassis No: F3L/002 and comes direct from Alan Mann Racing. According to the vendor, when the P68 programme was retired after only one season, the damaged Nurburgring car was returned to Alan Mann Racing headquarters in Byfleet, where it was laid up and stored for many years. In latter years, after Alan Mann Racing had closed its doors on motorsport, designer Len Bailey took control of the damaged car and a project to return it to the circuits was undertaken by respected Le Mans driver, David Piper. The rebuilt car was run by David Piper in several historic races before Alan Mann bought back the rebuilt car. In true Alan Mann style  the car was entrusted to AMR's original chief mechanic, Brian Lewis, who undertook a complete revision of the previous restoration. The Cosworth DFV was rebuilt by Nicholson McLaren and the transaxle was totally overhauled by Hewland, New front and rear uprights were fabricated for the car in accordance to FIA regulations. Since being rebuilt for Alan Mann, the car has raced at the Silverstone Classic (John Young) and has been demonstrated at the Goodwood Festival of Speed (Rupert Keegan) and the Goodwood Revival meeting (Henry Mann, Brian Lewis, Richard Atwood). After seeing the revived P68 F3L/2 in action Alan Mann commented It's now faster than it ever was. Here is an opportunity to acquire an unique piece of motorsport history with a remarkable pedigree  direct from the original team owner - Provenance doesn't get much better than this!