Ford was about to launch the all-new Mk4 Zephyr/Zodiac in 1966.
Knowing that its style was likely to be controversial, and that there was no sporting pedigree in its background, how could it get off to a flying start?
Public Affairs guru, Walter Hayes thought he knew a way. Two years earlier, an attempt to keep a new Corsair GT going for seven days at 100 mph had failed when the engine blew after five days. This time, Hayes suggested, it might be possible to complete the job in the new Zodiac.
The object, therefore, was not only to beat 100 mph for seven days — 168 hours at close to the new car’s top speed — but to set new International Class D (2 to 3-litres) records at the same time. Was it even possible with a Zodiac? 100 mph, in a straight line, for
