The Ferrari 365 GTB4 'Daytona' is my favourite Ferrari of all time. It is light years away from the current crop of Ferrari with their cutting edge technology and wind tunnel sculpted looks. This was purity of design. But in 1968 this was considered a milestone in what Ferrari claims to be 'extreme high performance front engined sports car'. It was produced from 1968 to 1973.
It had a 4.4liter V12 making 352hp and 431Nm torque. Autocar tested it in 1971 and recorded a 0-60 mph time of 5.4 seconds, a 0-100 mph time of 12.6 seconds, a standing start quarter mile time of 13.4 seconds at a terminal velocity of 104 mph, and a top speed of 174 mph, a figure that remained as their road test record for a number of years. Remember, this was in the early 1970s.
But to me the Daytona had nothing to do with pure performance (which it no doubt had). It was the styling. The Pininfarina designed body was what I truly adore about this car. It was just an embodiment of power. A long bonnet, a set back cabin and a short abrupt tail basically conveyed a sense of power. It was as if it was all engine and nothing else. And that was partly why it was, and is so beautiful.
Photos: Ferrari
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