Ferrari 365 GTB/4 «Daytona»

Engineering

The Tipo 251 was developed from the 60° Colombo V12 of the 275 GTB/4. With a bore and stroke of 81 x 71 mm, it yielded 365 cm³ per cylinder. Six Weber 40 DCN/20 twin carburetors fed the engine; alternatively, 40-mm Solex carburetors were available. With a compression ratio of 9.3:1, it produced 259 kW at 7500 rpm and 44 kgm of torque at 5500 rpm; 0 to 60 mph took 5.4 seconds. The five-speed gearbox was mounted at the rear as a transaxle, and the independent suspension used wishbones and coil springs. The US version had only an 8.8:1 compression ratio and a large central muffler.

Design

Leonardo Fioravanti of Pininfarina, who had previously designed the Dino, penned the 365 GTB/4. Its lines marked the shift from Ferrari's traditionally rounded shapes to a more modern, sharp-edged look. Early Daytonas had fixed headlights behind an acrylic glass cover; a new US safety regulation banning headlights behind covers led to the pop-up twin headlights in 1971. All bodies except for the first Pininfarina prototype were built by Scaglietti.

In racing

In addition to the road cars, there was the competition version, the 365 GTB/4 Competizione. In total, there were 15 competition cars in three series, all with modified lightweight bodywork and differently tuned engine specifications. Except for the first Pininfarina prototype, all bodies came from Scaglietti. The Competizione was successful in international endurance races from 1971 to 1981.

Summarized from the cited sources; every figure was automatically verified against the sources.