The name is a derivation of the car’s height in inches, so it sits low and you wonder how on earth you’re going to get in, despite the doors cutting well into the roof.  The longer tail, which accommodates a lidded black metal box that’s laughingly referred to as luggage space, lacks the well-known stubby look of MkI and II cars, although the front is all but identical.  First, you climb over the wide sill (in which lurk fuel tanks either side) then stand on the seat before submarining down into a driving position that’s best described as snug. The sloping seats allow no room for movement whatsoever, but the three-spoke Mota Lita alloy steering wheel is perfectly placed, while your feet encounter a proper racing pedalbox that made me wish I’d swapped sensible shoes for narrow racing boots.  The substantially different MkIV was developed in the US and won at Le Mans in 1967, but the regulations were changed and the Ford 7.0-litre V8 wasn’t eligible so the MkI was reintroduced and added to the victory tally in 1968 and 1969.  We tested a MkIII belonging to Ford’s heritage collection. It has been owned by the company since new and is one of only seven road-going GT40s made.The instruments seem haphazard, but it’s all about going fast, so the speedometer is on the left, farthest from view, with the tachometer directly ahead. In a nod to civility, the gear lever is in the centre, although the racers had a right-hand change alongside the sill.
The Ford GT40 took on the might of Ferrari at Le Mans and came away the victor - repeatedly. Paul Hudson squeezes behind the wheel