This stunning Ford GT40 is up for auction

When buying a second hand car, you want as few previous owners as possible. This car has 13 of them. You should also be suspicious of repeated repaints. This car has changed colour four times.

And yet, at auction next month, it is expected to command comfortably more than £2million from its 14^th keeper. That’s because it’s an original Ford GT40, and it is utterly, utterly wonderful.

This one ticks every box you could wish for: it’s a first-generation car, produced in 1966, the year the GT first stuck it to Ferrari with its famous Le Mans win. Its first of four, don't forget.

It’s almost criminally underused, too, with just 3,200 miles to its name. Its enviable provenance makes it eligible for all kinds of events: we sincerely hope its new owner puts it to proper use, rather than squirreling it away into a legend-packed collection.

As a road-going mk1, it is one of a mere 31 of its kind. And if you’re a sucker for originality, then worry not, as a 2009 restoration - a very expensive one at that - saw it returned to its original blue hue, as well as a rebuild of the engine, transmission and suspension. The main bits, then.

The hammer falls on March 11 at the Gooding & Company auction at the Amelia Island Concours event in Florida. Its estimate? £2.3-2.6million…

Pictures: Brian Henniker, copyright Gooding & Company