Cars - Ferrari Daytona

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	Cars - Ferrari Daytona

:See also Ferrari 365
for the round-bodied 365 California, GT 2+2, GTC and GTS

Vehicle specifications

The Ferrari Daytona (correctly named the 365 GTB/4) is a Gran Turismo automobile produced from 1968 to 1973. It was first introduced to the public at the Paris Auto Salon in 1968 and replaced the 275GTB/4 but, although it was also a Pininfarina design (by Leonardo Fioravanti), the Daytona was radically different. Its sharp-edged styling resembled a Lamborghini more than a traditional Pininfarina Ferrari. The Daytona name commemorates Ferrari's success in the 24 Hours of Daytona with the Dino 330. While it was initially used as a pre-production internal denomination, Ferrari still insists that this was never the model's official name.

Unlike Lamborghini's new Miura, the Daytona was a traditional front-engined, rear-drive car. Customers were disappointed that Ferrari stuck with this layout, and the Daytona was replaced by the mid-engined 512 Berlinetta Boxer. Today, the car represents the last of the great front engine Ferraris.

The engine, known as a Tipo 251 and developed from the earlier Lampredi V12 used in the 275 GTB/4, was a 4.4 L (4390 cc) DOHC V12 with a 60° cylinder angle, 365 cc per cylinder, 81 mm bore and 71 mm stroke, featuring six Weber twin carburettors (40mm Solex twin carburettors were used alternatively). At a compression ratio of 9.3:1, it produced 352 bhp DIN (259 kW) and could reach 280 km/h (174 mph). 0-60 mph acceleration was just 5.4 seconds. For the American version, slight modifications were made - the compression ratio was reduced to 8.8:1 and the exhaust system was equipped with a large central silencer, necessitating visible alterations to the primary pipes.

The 5-speed manual transmission (Transaxle concept) was mounted in the rear for optimal weight distribution, and a 4-wheel independent suspension featured wishbones and coil springs.

Early Daytonas featured fixed headlights behind a plexiglass cover. This particular setup was completely abandoned in favor of pop-up twin headlights when lobbying efforts by the CAS led to a variety of new safety regulations for U.S. road traffic in 1970, one of which concerning minimum ride height.

Model history

Achievements and notoriety

In 1971, the Daytona gained fame, or infamy depending on your point of view, when a Sunoco Blue example was driven by racing legend Dan Gurney and Car and Driver editor at large Brock Yates the entire 2876 miles from New York to L.A. in 35 hours 54 minutes (at an average speed of 80 mph) to win the inaugural Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash. The two claim to have driven the car to 172 mph on the backroads of Arizona. Befitting the car's heritage, both reported afterward the car's stability to be rock solid the entire trip, even at that elevated speed.

In 2004, the Daytona was voted top sports car of the 1970s by Sports Car International magazine. Similarly, Motor Trend Classic named the 365 GTB/4 and GTS/4 as number two in their list of the ten "Greatest Ferraris of all time".

Replicas and legal issues

In the 1980's the car gained new notoriety as Detective Sonny Crockett's car in the first two seasons of the TV show Miami Vice. Ironically, the actual car used for filming was a modified Chevrolet Corvette. This mock Daytona was a very pretty car in its own right, but Ferrari, reportedly miffed that a fake was getting so much attention, later supplied two new Testarossas for use in the show. Still, another fake (this time a modified DeTomaso Pantera) was used for stunts.

In the 80s and early 90s, several replica makers began offering counterfeit Daytonas, most of them based on a Chevrolet Corvette C3 chassis and drivetrain, either ready-to-drive or as DIY kits. Given the unbelievably high market value of well-maintained real Daytonas in those days of far more than $1 million and the growing demand from car enthusiasts who often didn't have that kind of money, around $100,000 for a turnkey replica (including the Corvette C3 donor vehicle) seemed reasonable enough for many buyers.

In response to these developments, Ferrari threatened legal action against some manufacturers for trademark rights violations and plagiarism. Still today, Ferrari appears to monitor manufacture and sale of these "fakes" closely; in any case, the few remaining replica makers now widely refrain from marketing their product as a faux Ferrari (or even mention any resemblance) - which includes almost never offering them with (otherwise freely available) Ferrari badges. Recently, has made efforts to delete auctions in which Ferrari Daytona replicas were advertised as being just that.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Ferrari Daytona ]

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Cars - Ferrari Daytona

Vehicle specifications

Model history

Achievements and notoriety

Replicas and legal issues

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