Car Of The Day: February 4, 2012

Today's car of the day comes from Firehawk73's collection and is Hot Wheels' 1971 Ferrari 365 GTB4 Daytona.

The Ferrari 365 GTB/4, better known by the unofficial name Ferrari Daytona, 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 275 GTB/4. The Daytona was replaced by the mid-engined 365 GT4 Berlinetta Boxer in 1973.

For more information and pictures of the real car please visit: Ferrari 365 GTB4 Daytona

The unofficial Daytona name is reported to have been applied by the media rather than Ferrari and commemorates Ferrari's 1-2-3 finish in the February 1967 24 Hours of Daytona with the 330P4.

Unlike Lamborghini's then-new, mid-engined Miura, the Daytona was a traditional front-engined, rear-drive car.

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, 267.9 cid) DOHC V12 with a 60° bank angle, 365 cc per cylinder, 81 mm (3.2 in) bore and 71 mm (2.8 in) stroke, featuring six Weber twin carburettors (40 mm Solex twin carburettors were used alternatively). At a compression ratio of 9.3:1, it produced 352 PS (259 kW; 347 hp) and could reach 280 km/h (174 mph). 0-60 mph (97 km/h) 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.
Although it was also a Pininfarina design, as with many previous Ferrari road cars (by Leonardo Fioravanti), the 365 GTB/4 was radically different. Its sharp-edged styling resembled a Lamborghini more than a traditional Pininfarina Ferrari.

Early Daytonas featured fixed headlights behind an acrylic glass cover. This particular setup was completely abandoned in 1971 favor of retractable pop-up twin headlights due to new safety regulations in the U.S., which outlawed headlights behind covers.