![]() You can almost smell that new factory scent. AMC may have been the little upstart, but. That means, by the time that we get to the video above, the factory had only produced Ford cars for about 35 years. For 1969-1970 Shelby Mustangs the colors available were Grabber Yellow, Grabber Blue, Grabber Orange, Grabber Green, and Competition Red (Calypso Coral). While the site broke ground in 1917, Ford didn’t use it to build cars until 1927 with the introduction of the new Model A. Oh yeah, and Ford produced its own electricity for the factory on-site, too. Better known as the River Rouge plant, because of its proximity to the Michigan river of the same name, this sprawling Ford factory was supposed to be able to turn raw materials into new cars without having to rely on other factories or suppliers.īanking on the idea of vertical integration, Ford had a metal foundry, glass plant and tire plant on-site. Before that, hell- before the Mustang-Ford’s Dearborn-based factory supplied millions of families with brand-new Ford products of every shape and size. Surtees became the first - and to date only - champion on two and four wheels, and also the first Ferrari driver to claim an F1 title in blue - an utterly unique feat on two levels.Before Ford turned its River Rouge assembly site into the haven of F-150 production we know today, the facility was responsible for building the ever-popular Ford Mustang. It was a Grand Prix that would go down in history - with fortune on his side, Surtees came through to finish second - and in doing so sealed the 1964 crown. The Briton was second in the new colour scheme at The Glen, and with the dispute still rumbling on, he would race with it again at the all-important season finale in Mexico. Operated by former racer Luigi Chinetti - an importer helping to put the Prancing Horse on the map in North America - NART were essentially a Ferrari satellite operation who had achieved significant sportscar success on American soil.įor the drivers very little would change: Surtees would still race his familiar 158 - it would just be adorned in the blue and white of the United States rather than the familiar red of Italy. Instead championship challenger John Surtees and team mate Lorenzo Bandini were suddenly entered under a new banner: the North American Racing Team. ![]() Officially there were no works Ferraris entered, but for all intents and purposes the Scuderia had not really withdrawn. The United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen - the penultimate race of the season - was the first opportunity to witness the consequences. Visually at least, Enzo was severing the ties between Ferrari and Italy. ![]() At the time, teams used national colours rather than independent liveries. He handed in his competitor's licence, and promised never to race in red again. If that drew Enzo's anger, the ACI's decision to not back Ferrari in the argument sent him into frenzy. The governing body could not see Ferrari building the requisite 100 cars, and were reportedly less open to persuasion due to past events. How much of that is myth and how much is reality is open to debate, but it might explain why in 1964, when Ferrari wanted to homologate a new car, the 250 LM, the FIA denied them eligibility. There was just one issue - Ferrari had moved the same cars to different locations. In total, the FIA counted enough cars to be satisfied. The story goes that Ferrari were short of the tally, but had a trick or two up their sleeves.Īccording to popular legend, Enzo Ferrari was able to pull the wool over the eyes of the FIA by taking representatives to see a small group of GTOs in one area, then ushering them in for a cordial coffee, before taking them off to see other batches in another area. According to the Italian rules of the time, 100 road-going models of a car had to be built before it was eligible to race. The bad blood between Ferrari, the FIA and Italy's national motorsport body (the ACI) was believed to date back to 1962, when Ferrari wanted to homologate their 250 GTO to compete in GT racing. As with so many sporting fallouts in history, politics - and arguments over regulations - were at the heart of the matter.
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