The idea of a popular, evocative concept car reaching production undiluted from its original form is an idea that largely went out with Harley Earl and three-martini lunches. Nonetheless, Ford’s GT40 concept car of 2002 must have proved as tempting to Blue Oval executives as it was to auto show crowds. Its concept was simple: take the LeMans-winning design of the Ford GT40 of the 1960s and translate its styling and engineering into a modern supercar.

Such was the roaring approval from the press and public alike of the 2002 GT40 concept that Ford CEO William Clay Ford, Jr. decided to give a limited production version the green light. The catch was he wanted the first production versions ready in just 16 months, in time for the centennial celebration of the Ford Motor Company.

The project was handed over to Ford’s Director of Special Vehicles Team, John Coletti, to harness the essence of the GT40 concept and make it street legal. The production car people expected the car would have to closely resemble the low, sleek silhouette of the original, while every aspect of the car would also belong to a purely modern machine. Perhaps the greatest challenge was that all expected the production version to be as revolutionary, as ahead of the pact, as much a tribute to American engineering prowess… in short, it had to live up to the legacy of the original GT40.

The resulting production GT40 was unlike anything Detroit had ever produced, capable of sprints to 60-mph in well under four seconds, bearing a top speed that surpassed the Porsche Carrera GT and Mercedes-Benz McLaren SLR and setting new track records at the Nürburgring. That power was courtesy of a supercharged 5.4-liter V-8 and six-speed gearbox, sending to the rear axles 550 brake horsepower and producing a throaty, muscular exhaust note that was as American as “Stars and Stripes Forever”. Assembled entirely in the United States, utilizing space-age construction technologies, the GT proved that Ford was still capable of holding its own against the best Europe could offer, just as the original GT40 had.

During the three years of production—2004, 2005, and 2006—4,038 GTs were built, with demand far outstripping supply and early cars selling for substantial premiums over the original MSRP.

The GT offered here has been driven only 3,200 miles from new, and is presented with all books and manuals and its original window sticker. Importantly, it is equipped with all four available options: painted LeMans-style body stripes, McIntosh CD stereo system, lightweight BBS forged aluminum wheels and color-matched Brembo brake calipers. Still very much “as new,” it offers an incredible opportunity to jump behind the wheel and drive one of the finest supercars of the modern era…still just as desirable and prestigious as it was when new.