Vicious Ford GT40 restomod gets car fanatics swooning

The GT40 is perhaps Ford’s most recognizable car. It’s the car that put Ford on the racing map, famously anchoring the historic 1-2-3 finish at the 1966 Le Mans to defeat Ferrari of all carmakers. It’s a car that has spun off a whole line of imitators over the years.

South Africa’s Cape Advanced Vehicles (CAV) has spent nearly 30 years doing exactly that – building exacting GT40 replicas and selling over 200 of them in this time. But what you see here from CAV is something entirely different.

Sure, the CAV GT MkII looks heavily inspired by the GT40, but underneath it features completely modern underpinnings. CAV calls it a series-production restomod supercar, and it is limited to just 40 units globally for its 60th Anniversary Edition. And if you fancy the pictured Miles Blue Metallic treatment, you’ll have to act fast as only 20 are available in that livery.

Now, while the silhouette might look recognizable, the components are anything but traditional. Starting with the chassis, the builder has kept the exact donor details under wraps, revealing only that it’s a modern mix of aluminum and carbon fiber. Eagle-eyed fans, however, have been quick to notice the A-pillars and roofline, which strongly point to a second-generation Audi R8 donor platform.

Powering the CAV GT MkII is a heavily reworked 4.2-liter V8 engine fitted with twin centrifugal superchargers. It produces a massive 800 hp and a peak torque of 649 lb-ft (880 Nm). That’s enough to give it a top speed of over 205 mph (330 km/h) and a 0 to 62-mph (100 km/h) time of 3 seconds flat, screaming all the way to a 9,000 rpm redline.

The motor boasts direct injection, forged internals, a carbon-fiber intake manifold, dry-sump lubrication, and an active valved Inconel exhaust system. It features permanent all-wheel drive, with power distributed to the wheels via one of three gearboxes: a six-speed single-clutch semi-automatic as standard, or an optional dual-clutch or traditional three-pedal manual transmission.

Taking care of the aerodynamics is a dual-layer active Gurney spoiler that deploys at high speeds. The carbon-fiber composite body and aluminum/carbon-fiber structure keep the curb weight down to just 2,976 lb (1,350 kg).

To manage that power, there are six selectable driving modes adjusted via the steering wheel, alongside two adaptive performance modes. Modern safety features are fully integrated, including ABS, stability control, traction control, and airbags as standard.

Elsewhere, the hardware list highlights KW Variant 4 three-way adjustable dampers to keep things pinned on the track. Braking is handled by massive Brembo setups: 380 mm 2-piece floating rotors with 8-piston calipers at the front, and 356 mm rotors with 4-piston calipers at the rear, with the added option of carbon ceramics.

The car is launching just in time for the 60th anniversary of Ford's legendary 1-2-3 sweep at Le Mans in 1966. That race is precisely why the GT40 occupies a special place in automotive folklore. It wasn't merely a fast race car; it was a machine built to settle a corporate score – a four-wheeled middle finger that rewrote endurance racing history.

CAV’s GT MkII retains the impossibly low stance, dramatic proportions, and visual theater that made the original GT40 a poster car for generations, while quietly incorporating the engineering, safety, and daily usability expected of a modern supercar.

It's the sort of car that makes enthusiasts stop scrolling, lean closer to the screen, and start mentally rearranging their garage … and why wouldn’t they? Dreams are free, aren’t they?

Source: Cape Advanced Vehicles