Engineer, designer

Lunn led the team that created and campaigned the first American car to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Lunn’s Ford GT40 scored four straight victories (1966-1969), including 1967 with inductees Dan Gurney and AJ Foyt, still the only all-American triumph (car, team and drivers) in endurance racing’s biggest event. From 1958-1969, Lunn ran Ford’s Advanced Concepts Group, responsible for the mid-engine Ford Mustang 1, Ford GT, GT40, Mark II A&B and Mark IV. As Vice President of Kar-Kraft (1969-1971) he oversaw construction of the Boss 429 Mustangs, mid-engine Mach II, and numerous Mickey Thompson drag racing and Bonneville design projects. As American Motors head of engineering (1971-1985), Lunn headed AMC-Renault competition programs and in 1983 created the first SCCA Spec Racer – Sports Renault — still in use today as the Ford-powered SRF3. In 1984, he participated in the Paris-Dakar Rally, driving a modified Cherokee XJ, the first modern unibody SUV that he was responsible for. He then consulted on the first military HUMVEE. The “Godfather of the GT40” passed in 2017 at 92.