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Ford P68 F3L (1968) - unsuccessful beauty

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Created on July 27, 2016

Reading time 9min

Written by:

Martina Mäder

Photos:

Alan Mann Racing

Jules Bieri - 50erdeluxe.com

Nicolas Ligot - Motorsport Images

Gilles Bouvier

Steve van den Hemel

Bruno von Rotz

Ford

Archiv

Alan Mann Racing

Jules Bieri - 50erdeluxe.com

Nicolas Ligot - Motorsport Images

Gilles Bouvier

Steve van den Hemel

Bruno von Rotz

Ford

Archiv

36 1

Der seltene Ford F3L P68 (1968) an der Spa Classic 2016

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Ford P68 F3L (1968) - Mit den ersten Sponsoren (hier Castrol GTX) sah man den neuen Ford Prototypen bereits früh in der Presse - hier mit Model Marilyn Rickard

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Ford P68 F3L (1968) - Erste Bilder vom Ford P68 in Goodwood 1968, kurz vor den allerersten Testfahrten

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Ford P68 F3L (1968) - Das Ford P68 Team mit Alan Mann (dritter Mann von rechts)

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Ford P68 F3L (1968) - Das Renndebut in Brands Hatch 1968, BOAC 500 - Walter Hayes (direkt vor der Front), Designer Len Bailey hält die rechte Tür hoch, Rennfahrer Mike Spence im Renndress und Ford Teammanager Henry Taylor hinten mit flacher Mütze

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Ford F3L P68 (1968) Frank Gardner und Hubert Hahne fuhren den #9 F3L am 1000km Rennen von Spa 1968

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Ford P68 F3L (1968) - Graham Hill und Frank Gardener testen den neuen Prototypen für Ford England

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Ford P68 F3L (1968) - Der 3-Liter Prototyp von Ford war am Genfer Autosalon 1969 ausgestellt

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Ford P68 F3L (1968) - Mike Spence fuhr die ersten Runden im Nummer #34 Ford P68 (Chassis #002) in Brands Hatch, Ausfall nach wenigen Runden

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Ford P68 F3L (1968) vor Porsche 907 - Mike Spence fuhr die ersten Runden im Nummer #34 Ford P68 (Chassis #002) in Brands Hatch, Ausfall nach wenigen Runden, konnte aber mit dem Porsche 907 (Neerpasch/Elford) mithalten

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Ford F3L P68 (1968) Auf Augenhöhe mit dem Porsche 907 von Neerpasch/Elford am 6-Stunden Rennen von Brands Hatch

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BOAC 500 Brands Hatch England 1968. Bruce McLaren und Mike Spence fahren zum ersten Mal den Ford Cosworth GT Prototypen namens Ford F3L P68, der von Alan Mann gebaut wurde

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Ford F3L P68 (1968) Überreste eine Crashs

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Ford F3L P68 (1968) Motoransicht eines Unfallautos

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Ford P68 F3L (1968) - Erste Runden in Brands Hatch 1968 mit der typischen rot-goldenen Lackierung

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Ford P68 F3L (1968) - BOAC 1000 Km von Brands Hatch, hinter dem Ford folgt Jo Siffert im Porsche 907

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Ford F3L P68 (1968) - Späte 68er Version mit riesigem Heckflügel

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Ford F3L P69 (1969) - Der Nachfolger des P68, gebaut von Alan Mann Racing, mit gewaltigen Front und Heck-Flügeln wie in der damaligen Formel 1

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Ford P68 (1968) - fast 350 km/h schnell - Rétromobile Paris 2016

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Ein seltener Gast an historischen Motorsport Events: Ford F3L P68 (1968) an der Jarama Classic 2016

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Summary

After the success of the Ford GT40 from 1966, the company wanted to continue this success with a successor model in 1968, the Ford P68 (1968 prototype). The vehicle looked very competitive and also convinced the sponsors. But the successes failed to materialize. This article tells the entire story of the P68 and shows in detail why things did not turn out as originally intended.

This article contains the following chapters

Victory or defeat due to rule change
Development in just four months
No success in real racing
The last attempt...
The surviving P68 in historic racing

Estimated reading time: 9min

Preview (beginning of the article)

For the 1968 World Sports Car Championship season, the British team Alan Mann Racing built three prototype vehicles with the designation Ford P68 F3L. It is said to have taken only four months to design and build the car. However, success failed to materialize, even though the prototype was supposed to have continued the triumphant success of the legendary Ford GT40 after the FIA rule change in 1967. But the new vehicle was not only difficult to steer, technical problems led to regular retirements. Despite pole positions and fastest laps, the P68 did not even finish a single race in its short racing career. Ford and the other sponsors soon lost interest in the unsuccessful project.

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