The story, the subject of a 2016 documentary
entitled “The 24 Hour War,” began in the early
1960s, when Enzo Ferrari expressed interest
in selling his company. Henry Ford II spent
considerable resources doing background work
on a potential deal, only for Ferrari to suddenly
shut down negotiations.
That chapped Ford, who ordered his racing
division to build a car to beat Ferrari, the Italian
sports car company that had come to dominate
endurance racing.