Gallery: Ford GT40 historic shots

This weekend's Daytona 24-Hour marks the race debut of Ford's new GT supercar.

To celebrate the occasion, we've trawled through Ford's image archive and dug up some brilliant historic shots that are a firm reminder of why this car is so revered and why Ford is keen to spend millions of dollars attempting to recreate the magic. Enjoy.

Where it all began, the original 1964 Ford GT prototype, the '40' would come later.

Unfortunately, while stunning to look at, the Mk I struggled as a race car due to unreliability, particularly with gearbox failures.

Press shot of the original GT40 road car.

With the project now in the hands of Shelby American, the Mk II GT40 brought with it the monster 7.0-litre V8 engine, seen here undergoing testing at Sebring in 1966.

Ask most people what a GT40 looks like and this is what will probably spring to mind.

Le Mans 1966. Here is the car of Kiwi duo Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon...

...who went on to win the event, leading home a historic 1-2-3 finish. Mission accomplished.

The GT40 Mk III. Only produced as a road car, just seven were made.

The mighty GT40 Mk IV. Still with the 7.0-litre engine, but with much improved aerodynamics.

It secured an all-American victory at Le Mans in 1967 driven by Dan Gurney and A.J. Foyt. It topped 340km/h on the Mulsanne Straight.

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