The Mirage story is, in some ways, a rather complex one, in that the Mirage was a rare example of a well-known racing car that had not been developed consistently year by year, as had been the case with Ferrari, Matra and Alfa Romeo in the late 1960s and early to mid-1970s. The Mirage was born from Ford and necessity, and it took some time to establish itself as a marque in its own right. Like Ferrari, Matra and Alfa Romeo, it managed to do that, and became a front runner in the World Sports Car Championship, with notable victories and exciting performances from exceptional drivers.

The Mirage was largely the product of the work of two men who had a lasting impact on motor racing. One was rather better known than the other, but the second had a much longer connection with the racing Mirages than the former. We are very fortunate that both wrote comprehensively about their racing careers, so much of the Mirage history is accessible.

John Wyer had been the competition manager for Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd. and then general manager of the company. In 1958, a young John Horsman had a job interview with Wyer and was offered an apprentice position with the company. Horsman then worked very closely with Wyer in the later years of the Aston Martin racing program, which was wound up at the end of 1963. Wyer famously joined Ford to sort out the GT40 for international sports car racing, while Horsman went back to education. He was subsequently invited to join Wyer as his assistant, which he did when he finished his course at London’s LSE in June 1964. They were to work closely together for many years to come, and remain friends even longer. Wyer eventually following Horsman out to Arizona to live.

Wyer and Horsman were based at the Yeovil Road headquarters of Lola Cars in Slough. In 1963 Lola’s Eric Broadley had been assigned by Ford the task of turning the Lola GT that had run at Le Mans into the GT40. Many Lola and former Aston Martin staff were engaged in this project. The GT40 was unsuccessful at Le Mans in 1964, and failed again at Reims just days later. Ford Advanced Vehicles had been established just before Reims, and when the Reims disaster took place, Broadley left Ford politics behind, taking his staff and some of the ex-Aston people with him. English engineer Len Bailey had been working for Ford in the USA and came to Slough as part of the GT40 project, remaining there after the split with Broadley. Horsman became the engineer responsible for development, preparation and racing at Slough, and the JW/FAV force really began to take off.

The next two years witnessed a serious advance in sports car racing, and the continuation of Ford politics in motor sport. Though FAV had the contract to build 100 GT40s, later reduced to 50, Carroll Shelby had become a Ford partner and assumed much responsibility for Fords going racing. FAV became rather second class citizens, entering few races but doing virtually all the development work. In addition, American Ford engineer Roy Lunn had gotten Ford to focus on a new car, the X-car, a NASCAR-engined chassis based on the GT40, which became the Ford MKII. This took place while FAV was still developing the GT40. When Ford lost at Le Mans in 1965, the FAV program was cancelled, and then reinstated two weeks later. In 1966 FAV was relegated to providing support for customer road and racecars. However, though Ford won Le Mans in 1966, FAV-supported cars won the World Sports Car Championship. Ford had announced that the GT40 build program would end in the autumn, and the very last car was delivered just before Christmas 1966.

John Wyer had purchased the assets of FAV and an agreement to continue to build and sell Ford GT40s. On January 1, 1967, the FAV sign was replaced by one which read J.W. Automotive Engineering Ltd., and the directors of the new company were Wyer, Horsman and John Willment who provided financial investment.

Significantly, Gulf Oil Corporation executive Grady Davis had spoken to John Wyer in March and ordered a GT40 for himself, which was delivered in April, and he was very impressed with the car. The link with Davis and Gulf would mark a turning point for Wyer, Horsman and many others. When Wyer was winding up the arrangements with Ford toward the end of 1966, he visited Gulf Oil headquarters. Gulf Oil Racing was created, and Wyer’s operation had generous finance for the future. Though it did not yet have a name, the Mirage program was underway.

Mirage is born

In 1966 and 1967 there were two championships within endurance racing: one for Group 6 prototypes over and under 2-liters, and one for cars which had been homologated in a production run of no less than fifty cars—Group 4 cars.

As the 1967 season opened, not everyone realized that this would be the last year for the unlimited prototypes. The FIA had completely reversed its earlier tendency to favor GT cars, and now were promoting the prototypes. If the teams had known what was coming, 1967 would have been a less interesting year. The JW team that would now be racing under the banner of the Gulf Oil Racing Team, knew the rule changes were coming, but considered it was still a good move to build an “unlimited” prototype. Regulations such as windscreen dimensions had already changed and Len Bailey had drawn up plans for what was essentially a GT40 that incorporated the new rules. This meant JW had a design for a car with a lower frontal area and less drag.

For the whole story, see the January issue of Vintage Racecar.