Ford P68

The Ford P68, also commonly known as the Ford 3L GT or F3L, is a sports prototype racing car model introduced in March 1968. It was designed by Len Bailey, a Ford research engineer, funded by Ford Europe and built by Alan Mann Racing at Weybridge, Surrey, in the United Kingdom, around Ford's recently introduced 3.0L DFV V8 Formula One engine to suit the FIA's 1968 limit of 3 litres for the Group 6 class. With a drag coefficient of only 0.27 its low, curvaceous body was efficient enough to push the car to over 350 km/h, but a high-speed instability criticised by drivers such as John Surtees and Jack Brabham, together with mechanical and electrical failures, meant it did not finish any of the races in which it was entered. For 1969 the P68 was the basis for the aborted open Ford P69 spyder, whose adjustable aerofoil wings were banned by the European sanctioning body early in the season.