The Ferrari 250 LM. From 1963 to 1965, 32 Ferrari 250 LM units left the Maranello factory. Powered by a 3.3-L V12 similar to the one used in the 275 P, it pushed out some 320 bhp. Both factory teams and privateer racers had a lot of success driving the car in various races; of its 35 entries in 1964, the 250 LM won 10. Fifty years have elapsed since Ford Motor Company’s overwhelming victory at Le Mans in 1966 and the controversy over who did win, or who should have won, the race. Ford and its Director of Special Vehicles, Leo Beebe, were both praised and vilified in the motor sports world and press at the time and, in some ways, nothing has changed. But the main focus is very much on that day in 1966; a day that cemented Ford’s place in sportscar history, a day that helped define the 1960s at Le Mans, and a day that created a legacy that will be continued by this year’s fleet of Ford GTs. *** RACER: Leading up to the 1966 race at Le Mans, what sort of expectations did you have based on Updated Sep 14, 2020, 1:52 PM. Following Miles’s death in testing just months after Le Mans ’66, Ford suffers another blow when Ferrari’s new 330 P4 blows away its GT40s in the 1967 Daytona Ford v Ferrari – what happened next after Le Mans 1966? Following Miles’s death in testing just months after Le Mans ’66, Ford suffers another blow when Ferrari’s new 330 P4 blows away its Ford wanted to organise a true 'dead heat' to have two cars win the race, essentially. So Miles gave back those 3 laps, leading to the story of the finish as shown. If you want to read a less dramatised version of the race (compared to the movie), we had a user write a race report for our Le Mans Legends celebrations last year! Ford’s decision to take on Ferrari at Le Mans had roots in a failed business deal. Henry Ford II at 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 18, 1966 in Le Mans, France Roger Viollet—Getty Images. As "Ferrari’s last win at Le Mans was in 1965 with its 250 LM, and at that time, Ford was just beginning to gain steam with its GT program. By 1966, Ferrari’s Le Mans dynasty was at an end." That’s why number one driver John Surtees would bemoan the fact that the Scuderia’s Formula 1 programme only really got going after June; and that’s why Ford, seriously cheesed at being jilted by Ferrari, moved heaven and earth to win at Le Mans: all the better to kick Enzo’s butt, which eventually it did in 1966. After Ford’s attempt to buy Ferrari had been snubbed a few years earlier, Ford set out to conquer Le Mans at Ferrari’s expense, which they did in comprehensive fashion. The Ford GT scored a 1-2-3 finish in 1966, and took victories again in 1967, 1968 and 1969. eqPqDos.