How Ford's GT40 became just the GT; maker shifts gears on sports car's famous name after negotiations stall.(Cover Story)

Byline: K.C. Crain

For months, Ford Motor Co. has been trumpeting the rebirth of a famous automotive name: the GT40, a short-lived but legendary sports car that dominated Le Mans in the 1960s.

And suddenly last week the new model, which will arrive in limited numbers in 2004, was simply the GT.

How come?

Thirty years ago, nobody at Ford bothered to register the GT40 trademark. And the trademark owner's initial demand, in the $40 million range, led the cost-conscious automaker to drop the ``40'' moniker and hang onto its money.

``We wanted the (new) car to be called the Ford GT40,'' says Bob Wood, part-owner of Safir GT40 Spares …