Enquirer wire services

The 2005 Ford GT will cost $150,000. (Ford Motor Co. photo)

What once was and still might have been the Ford GT40 is now and forever the Ford GT.

The 40 stood for how many inches high the original racecar stood. Unfortunately for the Cincinnati company that owns the rights to the name, the media reported that 40 also stood for how many millions it wanted from Ford to use on its new exotic sports car.

Ford said "No," and now the three men who own the company are saying, "Whoa, let's chat some more."

To make a sad story short, here's what happened, according to Bob Wood, one of three partners who own Safir GT40 Spares. The company trademarked the name in 1985 and provides parts for the GT40s Ford built in the mid-1960s.

Wood said he and his colleagues are upset about published reports that they wanted $40 million to sell Ford the rights to the GT40 name.

The GT40 came into being in the '60s after Henry Ford II was rebuffed in trying to buy Ferrari. So he built his own car to race, which became a perennial winner at 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Ford is bringing back the car, albeit a modern, superexotic rendition that will go on sale next year, but it will be called the GT.

Reports of what Wood and crew wanted have varied from three cars and $1 million in cash to $100 million minus any cars.

"Ford actually never offered us anything for the name. If it had come to us with a proper offer, we'd have made a deal," Wood said.

The problem, it seems, is semantics, with an emphasis on "antics."

"When we talked with Ford, they asked what we wanted. We said that Ford owns Beanstalk in New York, the company that licenses the Blue Oval for Ford on such things as T-shirts. Since Beanstalk gets 7.5 percent of the retail cost of the item for licensing the name, we suggested 7.5 percent on each GT40 sold," Wood said.

Based on 7.5 percent of 4,500 GT40s at the then-estimated $125,000 per copy, the partners would have gotten roughly $40 million. Ford actually priced the GT at $150,000, though.

"But $40 million was just a starting point," Wood insisted.

Besides, he said, no sooner had 7.5 percent been uttered than Ford responded 7.5 percent was out of order.

"So we said, fine, make us an offer. But they never did."

The partners were also riled that in 1995 they allowed Ford, at no charge, to use the name on a model. Wood says the model sells for about $300 a copy, yet the partners don't get a dime.

Wood said the partners are still willing to listen to any offer - if Ford would make one.

"We talked to a lot of people and figured $2,250 a car (for naming rights) would be fair, or about $9 million," Wood said.

Ford isn't going to mention any figure to the partners, according to Ford spokesman Dave Reuter.

"The issue has been put to bed," Reuter said.