In 1963 Ford entered into negotiations to purchase Ferrari so as to take advantage of their racing pedigree, however Ferrari backed out at the last minute. Having spent millions of dollars investigating Ferraris assets to make an informed bid, Henry Ford II wasn't a happy camper. Ford called his motorsport division and told them to beat Ferrari at his own game.
The cutaway roof section of the door is what makes it special. This was necessary due to a unique problem that le mans presented. The "le mans start" was a tradition in which the drivers lined up against one wall and the the cars lined up against the opposing pit wall. On "go" the drivers had to run across the track to get to their cars. To get away as quickly as possible the drivers wouldn't put on their safety harnesses, doing them up when they could a few laps in, or not at all. Due to the high sills on the racing cars getting in through a tiny aperture into a cramped cockpit was a skill in itself but the with GT40 doors extending almost to the centre of the roof, the driver merely had to stand on the seat and slip into position.
Heres the famous "le mans start" from 1966 notice the GT40 in the foreground, despite teething problems in 1964 and '65, Ford was on top form in '66 with the GT40 Mk II. They came 1st, 2nd and 3rd that year and won at le mans the following three years. In 1969 Jacky Ickx decided to boycott the running start, casually walking to his car, nearly being hit by a front runner in the process and carefully securing his harness before driving away in last place. John Wolfe was subsequently killed in his porsche 917, he hadn't used his harness, while Ickx went on to win. As a result the Le Mans start abandoned from 1970 onwards.
Heres a clip of the 1966 Le Mans start, sorry about the german narration, it isn't much crack.
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