Ferrari Daytona 365 GTB/4: Road Review | Catchpole on Carfection

Henry Catchpole drives on of the all time classic Ferraris, the 365 GTB 4 aka, Daytona.
Ferrari 365 GTB/4
There is always an intrigue in comparing generations of car from the same family. When a new 911 or Corvette comes out it is inevitable that you will want to draw comparisons with the one that immediately preceded it. But when there is a gap of 23 years between the end of production of one model and the start of the next, that makes a comparison a little more unusual.
That, however, is just the situation we have here. Ferrari produced the legendary 365 GTB/4 (better known as the Daytona) between 1968 and 1973. The next front-engined V12 supercar to appear with a Prancing Horse was the 550 Maranello which was made between 1996 and 2001. Can they be compared? Well, with the help of Bell Sport & Classic, we went to find out.
It made sense to tackle them in chronological order, so this first film deals with the Daytona. It has a 4.4-litre Colombo V12 under that long bonnet, putting out 347bhp at 7500rpm. When it was launched, Autocar figured it at 174mph flat out (a road test record that would stand for some time) and that was a true average speed taken from two runs in opposite directions. This lead to a quip from Dan Gurney after a victory in the 1971 Cannonball Run, when he said ‘We never once exceeded 175mph’.
The car in this film is a Daytona from later in the production run, identifiable by its pop up headlights. These replaced the earlier cars’ fixed lights in order to meet legislation in the USA. It is also one of just 156 UK right-hand drive cars and has the more modern five-spoke star wheels as opposed to the other option which was Borrani spoked wheels. The five spoke design is something you can see in the 550 Maranello, too, but we’ll leave further comparison for the second film…
Subscribe for more Carfection videos: https://www.youtube.com/c/carfection/
Don't forget to hit the ????

Follow us on our socials for additional exclusive content:
???? Facebook: facebook.com/carfection
???? Twitter: twitter.com/carfection
???? Instagram: Instagram.com/carfectionfilms
♪ Tiktok: tiktok.com/@carfection?