At a nondescript workshop on the outskirts of Melbourne, it looks like a movie crew is setting up to film the sequel to the big-screen epic, Ford versus Ferrari.

There are immaculate GT40s parked around the workshop in a scene which could easily be taken from the movie, with all the necessary items to bring them to life. But there is more. A lookalike recreation of a 1960s grand prix car is resting in a corner and there is also a born-again Alfa Romeo T33 which looks as if it could also be leaving soon for Le Mans.

It’s all the handiwork of a one-time technician in the British Navy who eventually fled from Ireland to Australia and has since made GT40s into his life and business – while also doing everything from self-building a home to fighting major battles on the health front. Robert Logan is an unstoppable force of nature and a genuine dream merchant. Ask him a question and you’ll get answers for five. All delivered in storybook style in his Irish lilt.

He leads a company called Roaring Forties and, as the name says, he builds thundering V8-powered replicas of the Ford GT40s that were unbeatable for a time at Le Mans and have since inspired passionate fans – and a range of replica makers – around the world.

“All cars should roar,” Logan begins. “When I was searching for the hugely important company name, I remember liking names that had wind links, or weather links, like Hurricane and Mistral.

“With my nautical background the ‘Roaring Forties’ kept coming up as an early favourite and I just could not resist it. It’s the name for the strong westerly winds that circle the Southern Hemisphere and comes from the old sailing days. I think it is so right as all my Forties should Roar.”

Logan is directly responsible for the creation of nearly 200 GT40 recreations, from kits of bits to turn-key cars, while Roaring Forties built about another 100 cars while it was operating in the hands of other owners.

As for the F1 racer, he has just sold a pair and been granted permission to race the car – powered by a 5-litre Ford Windsor V8 – in Australia by the AASA sanctioning body. If the car creation seems too much, there is also the house Logan is having restored in Ireland. And an idea for commercialising the one-off Alfa replica. And a potential sale of Roaring Forties to give him more free time in his seventies. Ask why he runs at such a rapid pace and the answer is easy, even with his 60th birthday receding into the rear-vision mirror.

“I take everything on at 100 per cent,” Logan tells Wheels. “I don’t think you need to be hugely talented in life – I just think you need to have application. My greatest strength is that I understand my weaknesses. You should aways hire people who are better than you and then let them get on with it. I’m not a great engineer, but I’ve got people like Ross Holder, who is a racing engineer I met through Fred Gibson, to do the work on the GT40. I always say that the reason my cars are as good as they are is because of the people that have touched the car. But I choose who touches the car.

“Everyone involved has contributed in their own way and have all improved her. It’s synergistic work, where the combined work is greater than the sum of the individual’s work. And the heart of Roaring Forties is, without doubt, my wife Susan. She gives 100 per cent to support and sacrifice for what I do.”

His own road car is a Mercedes-Benz ML, but he also has the black BMW 325i cabriolet that was his original daily driver in Australia, as well as a wicked Kawasaki from the 1980s with a three-cylinder two-stroke engine.

“They called it the ‘widow maker’,” Logan laughs.

He bought it after tipping a boot into motorcycle racing, including one event where he was up against the legendary Joey Dunlop, who made his reputation with fearless wins on the Isle of Man TT course.

“I was eighth in my first race. The last person not to be lapped by Joey.”

He describes himself as “a gentleman” on the road, but there is an edge. And he makes sure he drives every GT40 to leave the workshop.

“I would say that I’m reasonably quick. Or I used to be. I’m quick in comparison to your average punter, but I’m not quick compared to a proper racing driver. I have driven many RF GT40s in all situations and most tracks in Australia, and even at Le Mans, but as I have got older, I drive them less and less.”

Logan’s love for the GT40, not surprisingly, tracks back to his childhood.

“My father got me a slot car set when I was about 10. My twin Mervyn and myself would race all the time. It was left set-up all the time, on the top floor of our home in Belfast,” he recalls. “My hero cars are the GT40 and McLaren F1 GTR, but I also love the Ferrari Daytona, Lamborghini Miura and the Series 1 Jaguar E-Type. It’s all about the lines.”

It was the design of the GT40 which drew him to Ford’s legendary Le Mans winner.

“Just purely the look, initially, but shortly after that the history at Le Mans. So much so that I have made the trip from Australia to Le Mans 12 times.”

Those trips were well in the future when Logan was growing up in Belfast. In a country known for ‘The Troubles’, the religious warring between Catholics and Protestants, he had troubles of his own.

“I was dyslexic and had ADHD, but it wasn’t diagnosed until I was in my forties. I had trouble reading and doing numbers.”

But it didn’t stop the super-smart lad, either when he worked for a computer company after school or when he joined the British Navy as an artificer (a type of skilled mechanic) and raced through training. Logan set a Navy record when he was promoted to Chief Petty Officer after just “six years, six months and one day”. He moved on quickly to become a commissioned officer. As a Lieutenant as he studied for an advanced diploma, followed by a Graduate Certificate in Education at London University and finally a Bachelor’s Degree in Pure Maths and Computer Programming.

He eventually had 140 Navy staff as he cycled through a series of senior postings before being head-hunted by the Australian Navy, where he lectured in undergraduate and post-graduate engineering subjects as well as working closely with the Australian Maritime College in Tasmania.

“I came to Australia on August 3 in 1990 with my family, based at HMAS Cerberus in Victoria. My ex-wife was Australian and she wanted to come home to raise our children in Australia and I completely understand why because it’s a beautiful country.

“She also wanted me to get a real job after the Navy. But I’d already had a real job so I dreamed up this idea to make cars.”

Logan clearly recalls the date and place that Roaring Forties was born. “I was thinking about it in 1995 or 1997, but I did the first drawing in September, 1997. I was at McMasters Beach, on the NSW coast.”

Two years of hard work followed, designing and engineering everything from the tube-frame chassis and then sourcing a set of body moulds taken from an original GT40 that was a museum piece with Ford in the UK.

“I’m very good with numbers, so I think the first car cost us just shy of $500,000 to build. I had four staff and we worked for 18 months and the wages came out of my back pocket. I had sold two houses in the UK before we came to Australia, so I had some spare cash.

“Ross Holder, who was the Nissan GT-R race engineer and Mark Skaife’s engineer for 16 years, opened all the doors. He helped me with the technical side, helped get the right staff, and also helped to get Richard Bendell and MoTec on board. Our first car was test driven by Ross and when he was satisfied it was correct it was given to Jim Richards for a test day at Calder. There was a magazine story and we sold 10 cars within a month and never caught up with the demand. My team produced a body-chassis kit at least every three weeks and produced 22 kits in one year. I had up to 14 staff working in our workshop.”

He expanded into the USA, where his cars were winners at a number of shows, and then South Africa. But the idea of cutting labour costs in South Africa went sour and he put the company into administration. After two later owners he was asked to help and took his baby back in 2021. It became a giant job, including setting up in a factory at Pakenham outside Melbourne.

“Why the second time? Because I’m a glutton for punishment,” Logan says. “I have returned the car to its roots, back to the Ford Windsor 302 V8. The company had not had any R&D or even company maintenance for numerous years before I took it back and many parts were no longer available. I had to re-design, resource and – worse – I needed to complete all engineering for registration.

“This has taken almost two years of work, but we now can confirm that our GT40s can be fully registered in all Australian states and territories.”

The latest cars have a chassis predominantly made from 40×40 RHS steel tubing, with bespoke suspension and uprights, a Ford 302 Windsor V8 behind the cabin, an Audi O1E 6-speed gearbox made by Getrag, and either AP Racing or Brembo brakes.

But, once again, Logan could not stop himself. He had an idea for a single-seater in the style of a 1960s grand prix racer, and could not resist when someone asked him to build a replica of the Alfa T33 using a modern V6 midships engine.

“I love the lines of the 1967 F1 cars and, in particular, the Gurney Eagle and the 312 Ferrari and the Lotus 43,” he says.

Before Covid, he built a car and sent it to the USA for demonstration runs, looking for an export program. But his agent had other priorities, so the original prototype with its gorgeous snaking chromed exhaust – and a choice of slide-on bodywork – is back for more work and a competition future in Australia.

“Our target is to build 15-18 cars. I want full grids of people enjoying themselves. We are also working with our engineers to comply with Motorsport Australia and this would allow us to race the cars all over the world.”

There have been a series of track trials and Logan says his Retro F1 car can undercut the lap times of a current Supercars racer at the Winton circuit in Victoria.

Looking at his Roaring Forties cars, in various liveries and engine configurations, Logan says it is hard to choose a favourite. Although he is still smitten with one car in Gulf Racing colours from Le Mans, as well as the black car he took to Le Mans when he was introduced to Jacky Ickx, who drove the winning GT40 in 1969.

“It’s a very difficult question. I love them all like my babies. I love to see the connection they have with their owners,” says Logan. “I always say to my owners ‘I am here to help you build your dream car, not mine’, and I truly believe that. I advise them, sometimes even condemn them for their choices, but always step back to allow them to build their dream.”

He is still working hard on the Alfa replica, and admits he would like to build a batch, but his other priority is the house in Ireland.

“My plan is to retire to Ireland and rebuild my manor house,” Logan finally admits. “I will have to pass on the gauntlet to the next generation. Become a gentleman racer in Ireland with my Retro F1. Slow down. My problem is I wish I was 20 years younger.”

This article originally appeared in the June 2025 issue of Wheels magazine. Subscribe here.