Key Takeaways

• Ford v Ferrari accurately portrays the thrilling 1966 Le Mans race, showcasing the dangerous and fast-paced nature of the sport.
• Matt Damon's portrayal of Carroll Shelby and Christian Bale's depiction of Ken Miles are both spot-on, capturing the essence of these legendary racers.
• Some elements of Ford v Ferrari take creative liberties for dramatic effect, such as Lee Iacoca's meeting with Enzo Ferrari in Italy and certain character dynamics.

When Ford vs Ferrari was released in 2019, it was lauded as one of the greatest racing movies of all time. Not only does it boast high audience scores from IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes, but it also went on to gross $225 million dollars worldwide that year. Ford v Ferrari was nominated for four Academy Awards, and ended up winning two: Best Sound Editing and Best Film Editing. It had a lot of star power right from the start, with Matt Damon as Carol Shelby and Christian Bale as Ken Miles. They knocked it out of the park as their portrayals of the legendary racers were spot on. James Mangold masterfully negotiated the racing scenes with fantastic shots of the low-slung GT40s chewing up the road at Le Mans. They based their account on the book written by A. J. Baime, Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, And Their Battle For Speed And Glory at LeMans.

Decades later, it can be difficult to get all aspects of the story right. Ford v Ferrari did a good job of hitting all the high points accurately and taking license to provide drama for the more human aspects of the movie. Caroll Shelby passed away in 2012 and Ken Miles right after the '66 Le Mans, as portrayed in the movie. Fortunately, due to the incredible nature of the story, it has been told and retold many times over the years, so much of the factual history has been preserved. In this article, we disseminate the facts from fiction for you.

HotCars has sourced information from a multitude of reputable sources, such as Le Mans, 20th Century Studios, and IMDb, in order to separate the facts from the fiction, in regard to the hit 'Ford v Ferrari' film.

Here's What Ford V Ferrari Got Right

One thing that producers didn't have to do making Ford v Ferrari was to embellish the action. Le Mans racing is a dangerous sport, and especially so back in the 1960s, with high-powered V8 sports cars, and little in the way of crash protection. Crashes were to be expected and, unfortunately, people did lose their lives. The performance of these older cars is impressive enough to captivate a modern audience too, as the GT40s would hit 212 mph on the Mulsanne Straight, which is 3.7 miles long. The racing action, from the running start to the three-way finish in Ford vs Ferrari is also very accurate, and exactly how the 1966 Le Mans endurance race was carried out in that period.

Matt Damon's depiction of Carroll Shelby is also an accurate one, as Carroll was, by all accounts, a great salesman with incredible drive. Ford couldn't have picked a better partner to take over the GT40 program. People who knew him also say that Christian Bales' portrayal of Ken Miles is also spot on down to his mannerisms. His performance was aided by information given by his son, Peter Miles. Ken was running a shop when it was closed by the IRS due to back taxes owed when he went back to driving for Caroll Shelby and Ford.

Did Henry Ford Try To Buy Ferrari?

Yes, Henry Ford II did in fact try to buy Ferrari in the early '60s. Several meetings took place, and an initial offer of $10 million dollars was offered to Enzo Ferrari, who was always in danger of shutdown due to the amount of money he spent on racing. Ford execs even toured the factory where they witnessed engineers hand fabricating Ferraris. Enzo had no intention of relinquishing decision-making over the budget and direction of the racing team, and that ultimately led to the offer going south.

That Wild 1,2,3 Finish

The famous finish has been immortalized in photographs since that day in 1966. Ken Miles was leading the race and about to win it all when, at his last stop, team orders were for him to give them their 1,2,3 finish at Le Mans. This proved fateful as a little known rule came into play. In the event of a tie, the driver who drove the furthest would be awarded the championship trophy, and so, due to a teammate starting eight meters behind him, Miles lost out. If Miles won, he would’ve been the first driver to win the triple crown of Daytona, Sebring and Le Mans in a single year. Sadly, Miles died in an accident while testing two months after Le Mans, and his story had been forgotten by many until recently.

Here's What Ford V Ferrari Made Up

As with any Hollywood film, Ford vs Ferrari takes dramatic license to ratchet up the tension at times to tell a more compelling story. For example, Lee Iacoca never went to Italy to meet with Enzo. He sent an engineer that he trusted in his absence, Don Frye. Iacoca was played brilliantly by Jon Berenthal, and it gave him more to do in the movie, so no harm is done. Ford had lost at Le Mans in 1964 and 1965 due to equipment failure, with one driver quitting during development, mainly because the GT40 was getting unstable at high speed. This was why Shelby was able to come in with his team and "fix" the cars before the 1966 Le Mans. Many of the smaller scenes that help fill in the space between bigger events are imagined and meant to keep the story moving.

Fiat Didn't Bail Ferrari Out In 1966

In the film Ford v Ferrari, it is shown that the potential sale of Ferrari to Ford is stopped when Fiat learns of it and, out of a sense of national pride, swoops in to counter Ford's bid and allow Enzo to retain control over the racing teams. The reality is that although Fiat had been sending payments to Ferrari to help them stay afloat, they didn't actually purchase Ferrari until late 1967 or early 1968, depending on the source. This is well after the events that took place in the movie. The real sticking point was that Ford wanted to control the budget and direction of the race teams, and Enzo would never agree to that.

Beebe Isn't The Villain

Shelby and Miles didn't like Don Beebe. That much has been corroborated by the people who knew them. However, Shelby never locked Beebe in an office to get a closed-door meeting with Ford, according to Frank Comstock, a journalist and former student of Beebe’s. During the race, Beebe did object to Miles driving the GT40s flat out at the 12 Hours of Sebring race in Florida and later at Le Mans. Beebe felt it was unnecessary and could result in the equipment failures that plagued them the previous two years. Shelby also never felt the need to bet his business on Miles’ success, “lock, stock, and brand,”. He also never walked onto the shoulder of the track with a sign reading “7,000+ go like hell.” That line was actually ushered by a teammate after a botched stop in order to stay competitive.

The Cars Were The Stars In Ford V Ferrari

The other stars of Ford v Ferrari are the cars. In this case, the 1966 Ford GT40 Mk II and the Ferrari 330 P3. The GT40 and Ferrari are both gorgeous machines capable of incredible speeds. The GT40 had a 7-liter engine with 485 horsepower, while the Ferrari's 4-liter engine made 420 horsepower. The P3 was shorter and wider than its predecessor to reduce weight and improve speed through the corners. The main advantage the GT40 had was the top speed it could hit on the Mulsanne Straight, which was 212 mph, while the Ferrari topped out at around 193 mph. It was too much for Ferrari to overcome and the GT40s walked away with the championship.

Ferrari 330 P3 Specs

Racing History

• Mike Parkes, with partner John Surtees, won the Monza 1000 km race.
• The 1000 km race at Spa-Francorchamps was driven again by Mike Parkes and John Surtees.

Ford GT40 MK II Specs

Racing History

• Ken Miles and Lloyd Ruby won the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona.
• Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon won the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Sources: Ford, Ferrari, 24 Hours of Le Mans, 20th Century Studios