Last weekend, I had the privilege of attending the ‘Ford v Ferrari’ Perfect Lap Tour at Carroll Shelby’s facility in Gardena, California. The tour served as a promotion for the two-time Academy Award winning film’s release on Digital, 4K Ultra HD, Blu-Ray, and DVD and brought together some of the movie cars, stunt drivers, and real-life stars of the film for a public “meet and greet”.
The experience began as soon as you walked through the main gate of the building.
Cars from Ford v Ferrari and More
A Superformance Ford GT40 Mk II dressed in the black and silver livery of the 1966 Le Mans-winning car driven by New Zealanders Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon was parked next to a replica bare aluminum-bodied Ferrari 250 Testarossa that had recently featured on Jay Leno’s Garage and Petrolicious.
Nearby, attendees were given the opportunity to spray champagne in front of the vehicles for a fun video opportunity.
Around the perimeter of the building, dozens of Shelby American classics from the past and present were on display – GT350s, GT500s, Cobras, you name it. But the real magic began when I walked into the building itself.
Nina Simone’s goosebump-inducing version of “I Put a Spell On You” filled my ears as around 50 vehicles took hold of my attention inside. Among them were cars I had remembered seeing in the movie:
906 Longtail Replica
Mustang GT350 (Used in the Daytona Scene – Complete With Damage)
The Cobra Seen in the Movie Promo Still
Cobra Driven by Matt Damon in the Film
No.5 Aston Martin DBR1 Driven by Damon in the Opening Scene
And the GT40 Seen Raced By Miles in the Movie
Did Matt Damon do Carroll Shelby Justice?
While gawking at the beautiful cars before me, I was introduced to Tracey Smith, Executive Vice President of Carroll Shelby International, Inc.
Though Shelby wasn’t even involved until post-production, there was no hiding Smith’s pride and enthusiasm as she told me just what the film meant to her and the company. I had to ask whether she felt Damon delivered, having known Carroll personally herself.
“Carroll is portrayed so well in the film. That was what was so beautiful for us to see,” said Tracey. “The gal that works for me, 5 minutes into the movie, was bawling because he does that voice over in the very beginning and it sounded so much like him. I think he did a great job. I think it was harder, truly, to play Carroll because Carroll was with us so much longer. But he caught his sense of humor, he was kind, he was a scoundrel, and he picks up on all of those characteristics in the film. So we were kind of chuckling at some of the things he was talking about – like “finer than frog fur” – that was so Carroll! Just random stuff like that! I couldn’t be more happy. “
Jeff Bucknum Races Old-School for the Film
After speaking with Tracey, I left for my interview spot with Jeff Bucknum inside a recreation of Carroll Shelby’s old office.
Jeff is the son of Ronnie Bucknum, the prolific 60s/70s racer who also competed in the Ford GT40 program in addition to being the first driver ever to race a Honda-powered F1 car and other accolades.
Jeff is a racer himself, formerly in the Indy Racing League and American Le Mans Series, and served as a stunt driver for Ford v Ferrari. As it turns out, driving in the film was as old-school as the period they were representing.
“When the cars showed up, they were just bolted together and thrown at us. They all drove differently. Some had massive understeer. Some had wicked oversteer and the car wanted to spin out. Some shifted better than others. We tried to get them all nailed down but there were some scenes where they wanted our cars sliding. And there were a couple of GT40s that were much more loose and much easier at getting them to oversteer, so we would use those. But at the end of the day, they were absolutely fun to drive.”
According to Jeff, only two Superformance vehicles were used in the making of the movie, specifically for interior shots so they could show working, period-correct gauges. The other vehicles were made by another company, with less “speicifc things on it”.
“When I tell you there were no gauges, like NO GAUGES,” said Jeff. “Like no RPMs, no MPH, there was nothing. There was a shifter knob, and a steering wheel, and a gas, brake, and clutch. Being a racer though, it wasn’t that hard. By pitch of sound you could find where our rev limiter was, and so just by pitch, we would shift just before that rev limiter. But we did it old school with heel-toe downshifting, and H pattern (gearbox). And even where the shifter was, it wouldn’t get all the way into second and would pop out, and things like that.”
And the cars weren’t the only authentically scary element when shooting the movie.
“The stuff we were doing on the Mulsanne Straight that we duplicated (shot around Savannah, GA) was the most nerve wracking because it was literally just a road with mailboxes and trees – there were no guardrails or anything,” said Jeff.
“So, all the night stuff we shot – in the real race it rained all night – so they had to have sprinklers and rain coming down. And we would have the cars start to do some hydroplaning in certain times. And if any one of us lost it, there were big trees that we could’ve wrapped the cars around. “
Ken Miles’ Son and Crew Chief
Legends from Shelby’s Venice shop days were also in attendance, such as Ted Sutton and Jim Marrieta. But the most popular were the two depicted in the movie itself – crew chief Charlie Agapiou and Ken Miles’s son, Peter.
Ken and Charlie signed complementary posters for a never-ending line of enthusiasts, graciously offering time for a chat with any autograph hunters who asked questions. And yes, I was one of those people.
First, I met with Peter Miles, a warm, soft-spoken man whose resemblance to his father is most certainly there. When asked about what Ford v Ferrari meant to him, he replied:
“Well, it was cool because I always thought he was the top guy, but then I found out there were all these other guys with better known names and all that.
“Being a kid at the time I didn’t know a lot and I discovered how much he put into the development of all these different cars – the GT350C and the Cobra and the GT40. And realized, ‘wow, that guy was really talented, really smart, and really brave.’
“I’ve heard stories about him, running a GT40 at Daytona full-speed on the banking and the rear upright broke, so that car just goes (mimics 360-spins with his hands). So they bring the car back in, they fix it, and he immediately goes full speed in it again. No fear at all. Amazing!”
Next was Charlie Agapiou, who worked as a mechanic at Ken Miles’ MG shop. When operations shuttered, he followed Miles to Shelby, becoming his crew chief among many other accomplishments. He seemed to beam when I asked him what his impression was of the film and to have his story played on the big screen, he replied:
“I think it’s absolutely fabulous. It’s taken all those years, 53 years ago, and it’s finally brought to life. And in a way it’s really pushing Ken Miles because he deserves it. And nobody’s really spoken about him the way people speak about him now and they’ve really got to know him, which is great! I mean, it’s just magnificent. And for us too! I was a crew chief on the car and nobody even knew it. So yeah, very, very happy. “
When asked if Miles had been portrayed correctly, Agapiou responded:
“(Ken) was a lot more tender than they pictured him in the movie, absolutely. Because he was more of a gentleman. So they were hard on him but made for good viewing!”
Ford v Ferrari: Pick Up the Movie, Listen to the Soundtrack
When I left the event shortly after, I had the same feeling I had when I finished watching Ford v Ferrarifor the first time at the movie theater – a heartwarming pride for what these daring Americans and Brits accomplished together that summer of ’66.
When I returned home I ordered the movie’s soundtrack on vinyl (which was playing throughout the event), and proceeded to watch the movie again with an even deeper appreciation.
Ford v Ferrari is available on Digital, 4K, Blu-ray, and DVD, and can be purchased at the button below.
The soundtrack comes highly recommended as well. And since the movie takes place in the 60s, it just feels right to get it on vinyl. Click the button below and get your copy.