The Most Expensive Ford Production Car Ever
Ford may not carry the prestige of a Mercedes-Benz or the mystique of a Ferrari, but the Blue Oval has something those brands can rarely match: more than a century of raw, unfiltered American automotive history. That heritage has a price tag, and lately it has been a staggering one. A handful of Ford’s most storied production cars have been commanding auction results that leave even exotic-brand collectors doing a double-take — and the record set at the top of that list is genuinely jaw-dropping.
Sure, the cars that usually fetch the highest prices at auctions are usually accomplished race cars, prototypes, or iconic movie cars. However, one street-legal production Ford recently fetched so much money that it beat many iconic race cars — including those from brands like Ferrari — in sheer value. Read on to see what makes the most expensive production Ford ever so valuable.
The 1966 Ford GT40 P/1034 Became The Most Expensive Ford Ever
Every Ford fan has heard of the legendary Le-Mans-winning GT40 that beat Ferrari with Ken Miles at the helm — a car which, as of yet, has never reached the auction block. However, the GT40 nameplate also made its way to street-legal production cars before that, and one just broke all records.
When it traded hands on January 18, 2025, courtesy of Mecum Auctions, a 1966 GT40 P/1034 became the most expensive Ford production car ever sold, fetching $7,040,000 in the process. It’s one of only 31 examples built to homologate the legendary MkI Ford GT40 for participation in Le Mans in 1965 and the very first road-going example purchased by a private buyer.
Homologation rules originally required 50 units of the Mk I GT40 to be produced, but Ford managed to release only 31 to the public due to production delays and numerous revisions — the remainder being various road-going prototypes. None of the homologated Mk I GT40 race cars actually managed to finish Le Mans, but these models collectively paved the way for Ford’s legendary Ferrari-beating success with the Mk II GT40 famously driven by Ken Miles.
What separates this 1966 road car from the Le Mans GT40 are special road-going features such as a heated windscreen, reverse lights, interior carpeting, leather seats and door pouches, and even a timepiece. Under the hood of the record-breaking GT40 P/1034 is a Weber-equipped 289-cubic-inch HiPo V8 engine built by Mathwall Engineering and dyno-rated at 335 hp. The car also comes with the original January 1966 HiPo 289 V8. It features four Weber 48IDA carburetors and sends power to the rear wheels via a ZF 5DS-25 5-speed transaxle. It’s finished in Pine Green — its original color, the same one it wore when it left Ford’s factory in 1965.
Those $7 million didn’t just buy the vintage car and its heritage but also special racing privileges. Since 1997, this GT40 P/1034 has carried an official FIA Historic Vehicle Identity Form, making it and its new owner eligible for competition in historic races such as Le Mans Classic and Goodwood Revival.
The GT40 P/1034 Has Seen The World
When this GT40 P/1034 first traded hands on March 17, 1966, it didn’t just become the first such example sold to a private customer — it was also the first GT40 to be driven on British soil. But despite its value (or perhaps because of it), this car has changed hands so many times that the story behind it is arguably just as fascinating as the machine itself.
It was originally delivered to Englishman James Fielding of Gloucester in Pine Green. Fielding was no ordinary customer — as chairman of Heenan & Froude, his company built the very dynos used by Shelby during GT40 testing. He became one of the first members of the GT40 Owners Club and raced the car across the country in the ’70s. However, it didn’t stay in his garage for long; after only five years, he made the mistake of trading it for his neighbor Paul Weldon’s Rolls-Royce.
The GT40 Was Street Legal, But The Track Was Its Home
Weldon changed the GT40’s color to British Racing Green — made famous by the racing Jaguars of the era — and widened the rear bodywork to accommodate more aggressive wheels and tires for racing throughout England in the ’70s. He won numerous GT40 events before trading the car to Anthony Hutton to fund the purchase of the legendary Mirage M10001 race car (the only surviving M1 chassis to date).
Hutton didn’t keep it for long either. In 1975 it passed to Australian racing driver George Parlby, who raced it at Amaroo Park and later repainted it Powder Blue with Marigold Gulf livery inspired by the Le Mans-winning P/1075 GT40 that famously put Ferrari in its place. The car wore this look at the Adelaide Grand Prix Support Historic Race in 1985 and 1986.
It then returned to America, purchased by Harley Cluxton of Arizona, and traded hands several more times among racing enthusiasts before landing in Germany in 1995. Peter Rössler purchased it there, raced it extensively at historic events, and even won the Stuttgart Grand Prix in 1999.
That was nowhere near the end of its journey. The GT40 went back to Australia that same year, where it collected numerous awards and accolades under David Bowden’s ownership and was driven at historic events by two-time Australian Drivers’ Champion Kevin Bartlett. It was sold and delivered in California in 2012 and finally arrived back in Europe in 2021, sold by D.K. Engineering to the current owner, who restored it to its original specifications — including repainting it in Pine Green and refitting the Weber-equipped Ford 289 HiPo V8 pushing 335 hp.
This GT40 P/1034 won awards wherever it went. It was also proudly featured and displayed at historic shows and events such as Brands Hatch Concours and Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
GT40 P/1034 Awards And Accolades
- 1973 GT40 Concours Event at Brands Hatch
- 1999 Stuttgart Grand Prix
- Best Competition Car at Noosa Beach Concours
- Best in Show at Queensland All Ford Day in Australia
- Feature Car at the Ipswich 500 V8 Supercar Race
- Chairman’s Award at Salon Privé Concours at Blenheim Palace, UK
Two Most Expensive Production Ford Records In The Same Week
The P/1034 that sold for $7 million dethroned another road-legal 1966 GT40 that fetched $6.93 million on January 13, 2025 — just five days prior. That car was another street-legal 1966 GT40 built as part of the same 31-car homologation effort and featured the same 289 HiPo V8. It had been delivered originally to an Italian customer.
Not The Most Expensive Ford Ever
While the GT40 P/1034 is now the most expensive road-legal production Ford ever sold, it’s not the most expensive Ford overall. That honor belongs to the Gulf-liveried 1968 Ford GT40 camera car used to film some of the most memorable scenes in the cult-classic movie Le Mans (1971), starring Steve McQueen. It fetched a staggering $11 million at a 2012 RM Sotheby’s auction, the winning bid met with an uproar of applause and a standing ovation.
Before filming on Le Mans began, the Gulf/Mirage-liveried GT40 was already a highly decorated Daytona and Le Mans race car. In 1970 it was purchased by Solar Productions, which removed the roof to use it as a camera car for the film — at one point reaching 150 mph down the Mulsanne straight while shooting. Its $11 million record is all the more remarkable given that it was set back in 2012; should this car ever hit the auction block again, it would almost certainly command a far higher sum.
The Most Expensive Street-Legal Ford
If you’re wondering what the most expensive Ford you can legally drive on public roads is, it’s not the P/1034. That distinction belongs to an even rarer 1965 GT40 Roadster Prototype built by Shelby American as a test car — one of just twelve GT40 prototypes ever constructed. It is, in fact, the rarest Ford you can legally drive to work (if you’re brave enough), putting you in the same company as its previous drivers, including Ken Miles and Carroll Shelby himself.
This legendary prototype earned numerous awards and accolades and was presented at prestigious events including the 1994 SAAC meet at Road America, the 2003 and 2018 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance (where it won a class award), and the 2017 Quail Motorsports Gathering. It reached a final bid of $7,650,000 at a 2019 RM Sotheby’s auction.
Most Expensive Ford You Can Buy In 2025
The most expensive Ford ever to leave the factory new was the 2017 Ford GT, produced in a limited run of 1,350 units. It remains the fastest true supercar Ford has ever built, featuring a 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged EcoBoost V6 producing 647 hp and 550 lb-ft of torque. Sending power exclusively to the rear wheels, it reaches 60 mph in under 3 seconds and tops out at 217 mph — the highest figure ever recorded for a production Ford. The final example to leave the factory — the 2022 Ford GT LM Edition — carried a starting price of $1.7 million and was produced in a run of just 20 units.
Specs
|
Engine |
3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 |
|
Transmission |
7-speed Getrag DCT |
|
Power |
647-660 HP |
|
Torque |
550 LB-FT |
|
0-60 MPH |
3.0 Seconds |
|
Top Speed |
217 MPH |
The most expensive new Ford currently on the market is the Mustang GTD — a track-focused monster powered by a supercharged 5.2-liter Predator V8 pushing 815 hp to the rear wheels. It recently took home the Nürburgring record for an American car when it lapped the iconic track in just 6:57.685. Ford is asking $325,000 for it.
Specs
|
Engine |
5.2-liter Supercharged V8 |
|
Transmission |
8-speed Tremec DCT |
|
Power |
815 HP |
|
Torque |
664 LB-FT |
|
0-60 MPH |
3.0 Seconds |
|
Top Speed |
202 MPH |
Sources: Mecum, RM Sotheby’s, Ford.
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