Why the '69 Gulf GT40 is the greatest Le Mans winner ever

50 years gone and the Le Mans 24 hour of 1969 remains one of the most heart-stopping stories in motorsport. Learn all about it with one of the drivers of the iconic GT40, Jacky Ickx. #gwspeed

[Antonio-rukv]

This is definition of race car. From design, colours, preformance...

[quinnmortensen]

Quite possibly my all time favorite car.

[derekantill]

1969 The greatest Le Mans ever. I was there to witness this great race.

[MrSwj]

For me, this is the most iconic racing car ever.

[SVTJD]

Ken miles should have been there. Sad. 2019 his legendary story lives on

[PatHaskell]

What a fascinating man! “First you have to dare and never give up”.

[bloqk]

It was remarkable how John Wyer, with J.W. Automotive, managed to keep the aging GT 40 competitive against the newer Porsche machinery. Other teams with GT40s and Lola T70 coupes couldn't equal what Wyer did with his GT 40s.

[stevefowler]

For those that may not know...the first GT40 in '64 had a ford 260 V8 engine, the '65 entries had a 289 V8 (special 4 bolt main blocks), the '66 and '67 winners had the "NASCAR" 427 V8 and then Le Mans changed to a 5 liter limit so Ford went to the new 302 (albeit, again a special 4 bolt main block) bored to 305 CI with the Gurney Weslake heads and won again in '68 and as this video states won for the fourth year in a row again in '69 when the 917 was HEAVILY favored.

[Sinflux]

To bring it home clean and win 2 full Le Mans races—what an achievement.

[fw]

Jackie is one of the all time greatest champions.

[branon]

First you have to dare, then you never give up words of wisdom from a Le Mans champion....

[charlesdjones]

The GT40 is the perfect sports car, with the perfect story to go along with it.

[ACMEpowersports]

Met Mr. Ickx at Rennsport. He didn’t know me from Adam, hugged my gal, hugged me and took 4 photos with us. He sat and talked to us for 25 minutes like we were friends. #realhero

[johnnymossville]

My favorite race car of all time. Second favorite are the Jaguar XJR IMSA and LeMans cars of the 80's/90's.

[pedrochevez]

This specific car and the Cobra Daytona coupe are my two favorite cars of all time.

[jacksonmarshallkramer]

Without question the most beautiful race car ever built. Even sexier than the 917. It's #2.

[robnamowicz]

"First you have to dare, and never give up, , " The wisdom of champions.

[BlueflagAlpha]

This and the 917K are my favourite Le Mans cars

[jackspeed]

For me the GT40 and the Jaguar E-type are the icons of the icons, greetings from germany.

[ProjectFairmont]

Legendary car, unexpected win, and great analysis by pro driver.