The Ford GT40 remains one of the few racing cars whose shape still feels instantly legible, even to people who don’t live in the paddock.
Cape Advanced Vehicles, the South African company best known for its GT40 recreations, is now using that heritage as the launch point for something new.
Its upcoming mid-engine supercar is currently known as the Special Project, and while it isn’t being presented as a replica, the early signals are deliberately familiar.
At a glance
- Cape Advanced Vehicles is preparing a new GT40-inspired mid-engine supercar called the Special Project for now.
- The car uses a carbon and aluminium monocoque and is expected to offer V8 power from around 500 hp to as much as 800 hp.
- Its official debut is scheduled for June 18, timed to coincide with 60 years since the GT40’s famous Le Mans victory.
A familiar silhouette without the replica brief
Cape Advanced Vehicles has built its reputation around detailed GT40 recreations, so the direction of this new car is not exactly surprising.
What makes it more interesting is the distinction between homage and continuation-style replica.
The Special Project appears to borrow from the GT40’s visual language without trying to freeze the car in the 1960s.
The clearest teaser detail is at the rear, where four vertical taillights sit within a machined aluminium structure in a layout that immediately recalls the classic endurance racer.
Prominent rear deck intakes also nod to the Le Mans-winning Mk II, giving the car a purposeful cooling-focused look rather than a purely nostalgic one.
Even the pale blue paint and gold number treatment lean into the mythology of the 1966 podium cars, though the execution appears sharper and more contemporary.
Carbon, aluminium and a proper V8 formula
Under the retro-inflected skin, the Special Project is being developed around a carbon and aluminium monocoque.
The structure includes integrated roof sections and bolt-on subframes at both ends, a layout that suggests a serious approach to stiffness, repairability and packaging.
Power is expected to come from a V8, which feels essential for a car drawing from this particular corner of racing history.
In naturally aspirated form, output is expected to sit around 500 hp, while forced induction could take the figure as high as 800 hp.
Those numbers place the car in a wide performance band, from analogue-feeling driver’s machine to something far more aggressive depending on final specification.
A June debut with Le Mans timing
The official reveal is scheduled for June 18, a date chosen for its connection to the GT40’s landmark Le Mans win 60 years earlier.
That timing matters because this project is not just trading on a shape.
It’s engaging with one of the great origin stories in endurance racing, where American ambition, European engineering and brutal reliability turned into a defining motorsport image.
For Cape Advanced Vehicles, the challenge will be to translate that emotional charge into a car that feels credible on its own terms.
The ingredients are promising, especially the combination of lightweight construction, mid-engine proportions and V8 character.
Details & Specifications
| Brand | Cape Advanced Vehicles |
|---|---|
| Model | Special Project |
| Layout | Mid-engine supercar |
| Structure | Carbon and aluminium monocoque with integrated roof structures |
| Subframes | Bolt-on front and rear subframes |
| Engine | V8 expected |
| Power | Around 500 hp naturally aspirated or up to 800 hp with forced induction |
| Design cues | GT40-inspired rear lighting, rear deck intakes and 1966-style colour treatment |
| Debut | June 18 |
If the finished car keeps the restraint of the teasers and delivers the mechanical substance implied by its construction, the Special Project could become one of the more convincing modern interpretations of the GT40 idea.
It won’t need to outdo the legend to matter, but it will need to justify why this shape still deserves another chapter.
