Interestingly, the designation “Daytona” is not official. The story tells that the press went ahead and announced that Ferrari would present a car with the name Daytona in commemoration of the 1-2-3 win there won in 1967 with the 330P4. Enzo became obfuscated and changed the name of the car.
The Ferrari Daytona emerged as a replacement for the 275 GTB/4 and a complement to the 365 GT4 Berlinetta Boxer. With a chassis very similar to the 275, now designated Type 605 and a wheelbase of 2,400 mm, the Ferrari 365 Daytona used lightweight materials such as fiberglass and a huge 60º V12 engine.
That 4.390 cm3 V12 Type 251 impeller was equipped with six Weber 40 DCN 20/21 double-mouth carburetors. With a compression ratio of 8.8 to 1 and 352 hp at 7,500 rpm, the 365 Daytona accelerated from 0 to 100 km/h in just 5.3 seconds and propelled 1,600 kilos of weight to over 281 km/h.
The design of the Ferrari 365 Daytona was carried out by Pininfarina, although Scaglietti participated in the manufacture. Pininfarina conceived a coupe of contrasting proportions combined with details that further accentuated the sporty character of the car. The long hood looked forward to the lights covered by Plexiglas pieces as innovation.
Behind it, the narrow cockpit with a racing car look saw the projection of the roof to the end of the car, a line as sporty as it is elegant. The great achievement was to harmoniously combine elements of his predecessor with more modern details, bounded by the dimensions of the chassis and engine.
A few copies of the Daytona were sent to “Servizio Assistenza Clienti” to condition for competition. Those cars were sold to private customers who took the 365 Daytona to the tracks.
Other changes to the Daytona were incorporated, such as the replacement of aluminum doors with new steel panels and a smaller leather-coated steering wheel.
Finally, the production of the Ferrari Daytona 365 finished in 1973, leaving as a balance of 1,284 GTB/4, among which only 125 are 125 365 GTS/4 Spyder models.
The Ferrari special department called Servizio Assistenza Clienti developed the GTB/4C Series I in 1971. This car exclusively prepared for competition was intended for the most prolific Ferrari dealers such as Charles Pozzi (France), Luigi Chinetti (NART USA) and Ronnie Hoare (UK).
Five units were built, which were reduced a lot of weight and increased performance. The engine then reached 380 horsepower, and combined with a reduction of 400 kilograms, the result was a surprising car. The specifications of the car met the regulations of the races of “Group 5” and the “Tour de France”.
The body had design modifications to lighten weight, such as the fiberglass bonnet and the plexiglass fairing headlights for increased aerodynamic efficiency. Other fundamental changes were in damping elements and overall structural rigidity.
Maintaining the same engine, but now optimized for 402 hp at 8,300 rpm, the car had to face an increase in weight. This was due to the regulatory change, since in “Group 4” the bodywork could not be made of alloys but steel.
Outwardly the car looked almost the same, except for the increase in the diameter of the catwalks.
Since the regulation of the “Group 4” became more permissive in some respects, Ferrari was able to further develop the components of the new Daytona GTB/4C Series III. The increase in the compression ratio of the engine did not affect its reliability, obtaining a new increase in power.
At 450 hp at 8,500 rpm, the engine adopted new pistons, camshaft and connecting rods. In addition, these 5 Series III cars improved their stability thanks to larger anti-roll bars and the use of adjustable Koni shock absorbers.
The most important historical results for these cars were in endurance races. The competition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1972 had four Ferrari Daytona 365 GTB/4 occupying the top positions of the GT category, a fact repeated in the 1973 and 1974 editions (in GTS). Other achievements were the GT category (+ 2.0 L) victories at the Daytona 24 Hours 1972 and 1973 and Group 4 at Daytona 1975.
© Adrián Blanco 2007 - No full or partial reproduction of text and/or images without explicit written consent of the author. —
Ferrari Mythos
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