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Ferrari Daytona


The Most Famous Ferrari Ever?

The Ferrari Daytona (proper name 365 gtb/4).was the first true Ferrari Gran Turismo cruiser. The Daytona name was not official but only came about through all the press hailing its victory in the 1967 Daytona 24hr race. It was revolutionary and radical with its sharp edged designed features such as the extended wheel fenders and pop up twin headlights. This fabled piece of engineering was designed by Leonardo Fioravanti, in is famous Pininfarina style that had graced the world in earlier models. The public first saw this prototype at the 1968 Paris salon, where Ferrari hailed this as their fastest road car they had ever built.

Car specifications
They had a point as this new car had the new first generation of fabled berlinetta v12 engines with overhead twin camshafts per bank and a bore stroke of 81 x 71mm that helped to produce 352 bhp, which in 1968 was considered an impressive amount. This propelled the Daytona to a 0-60 mph time of 5.4 seconds, and then on to a top speed of 174 mph (280 kph). The five speed ZF gearbox was mounted within the transaxle and gave the Ferrari an even gear spacing allowing the Daytona to hit the 174 mph. The dry sump engine had no less than six Weber carburetors and a capacity of 4.4 liters. This together with the tubular chassis independent suspension and disc brakes made it a heavy car, tipping the scales at 1633kg (3600lb). This car had a big reputation.

Prototype
But as the prototype was designed by Pininfarina at the Paris motor show in 1968, when it finally came to the production of the car in Modena, Carrozzeria Scaglietti had the responsibility of selling the cars to customers. This got people worried as they wondered if he would change anything on the ever beautiful Daytona bodywork. This however was not the case and in the 1971, 1972 Le Mans Daytona’s came 5th at both races. Maranello had doubts as the Daytona’s only had brakes considered for road use, but these doubts were soon rested as viewers saw the Daytona reach speeds up to 200mph and then able to stop again proving their worth.

The spider Version
In 1969 at the Frankfurt motor show Ferrari unleashed their next Daytona. The spider version. This convertible version was even more beautiful with its great lines and exceptional noise. Customers with the roof down would then be able to hear that awesome v12 engine even more. The trouble with the spider was that is very rare (only 150 examples were built) so demand was very high and when they were sold were at a higher price than the coupe model.

Racing Heritage in Europe and Beyond
All this hype in Europe over the Daytona was not being ignored by the Americans though and they wanted the car over in the states. There were some technical difficulties though as the car did not meet American regulations. So the car had to be changed with retractable headlamps rather than the plastic covered headlights. America wanted more than a road car though and in 1971 500 Daytona’s were sent to the USA for racing. This was a decision that Maranello had to discuss though. They new the Daytona had racing pedigree with good results in Le Mans and the Daytona 24hrs (given its name) but they didn’t want to give the owners full support as they were racing what really was a road car. But the Daytona was eligible in the group 4 category for the special gt series. The man behind the American campaign was Luigi Chinetti. He owned his own team called Chinetti North American team and had already ran in the Daytona 24hrs and at Le Mans.

Last Days
He prepared five one off cars that each had an increased output of 450hp and because of that he had to update the suspension and the brakes. He then managed to achieve a second place and first in his class at the 1973 Daytona race. After 1973 the mid engined boxer Ferraris arrived and customers turned towards them rather than the Daytona. Private people still raced Daytona’s but literally the days of this legendary Ferrari were over.