The Ford GT40 is a car that doesn’t even need it’s own legend to leave legions of fans drooling idiots in person, and doesn’t need the car to be one of the most entertaining and important moments in automotive racing history…the story itself will suffice. Born from Henry Ford II’s red mist moment after Enzo Ferrari backed out of an acquisition deal, the GT40 saga involves Carroll Shelby, Lola, and four years of Ford making damn sure that Ferrari understood just what bona fide anger could manifest into where racing was concerned. The road-going and racing GT40s are now auto royalty, the beasts that conquered and returned valiantly home, celebrating victory.

This isn’t a road-going GT40. It’s not a race car. It’s not even one of the many rather decent kit cars that you can buy nowadays. Instead, this is a hand-built aluminum-bodied take on a 1966 Ford GT40 built by an Australian named James Cowden over the course of eight years in a garage. This is much more than just beating some metal sheets into the right shape and calling it good…this is one of the most intensive labors of love we’ve seen in a minute. We’d tell you the story if it was ours, but instead Matthew Everingham from Speedhunters caught up with the car and the craftsman. Click the link below and check out more of this testament to actually putting your hands to excellent use.

Speedhunters: A Rock Star GT40