Tough style break with the past
The name Daytona was never officially assigned to the Ferrari 365 GTB/4, but it has been inextricably linked to it since the car’s debut. Of course we bring this up because we were able to drive the Ferrari Daytona SP3 recently.
Nice, isn’t it, that Ferrari also uses the name Daytona for the new SP3? The 365 GTB/4 has to be one of the most described cars in the world, which says a lot about its iconic status. Not surprising, because it arrived in 1968 as the successor to the no less titillating 275 GTB/4, while also making history as the last front-engined Ferrari for the time being. The name Daytona was a reference to the successes of the P3 and P4 on that American racecourse, a year earlier. It got the chassis of the 275, but the V12 engine was significantly larger at 4.4 against 3.3 liters and, partly thanks to double overhead camshafts, it was also considerably more powerful: 352 versus 280 hp.
Debut in 1968
Yet it must be Pininfarina’s stunningly beautiful lines that have given this car its leading role in automotive history. On its debut at the Paris Motor Show in 1968, the Daytona was a sensation, as it resolutely broke with the Ferrari styling that had existed until then. Thus the familiar oval grille with the large headlights diagonally above it disappeared; it was replaced by a newfangled piece of Plexiglas, with the headlights behind it, of course!
The viewers with this Ferrari were therefore no longer as visually defining as with earlier models, but were subordinated to the downright slippery appearance with which the 365GTB/4 presented itself. The grille became a narrow slot, followed by a very long hood followed by a low cabin that gave the car, as it is so beautifully called, speed while it was still parked. The tough five-spoke wheels contributed to that image. The Daytona pictured here is special because it was shown at the New York Auto Show in 1969. In his somewhat faded Giallo Dino, he is considered the first official production model, which still differs in numerous details from how the Daytona would eventually come to the market. 
1,258 built
Copies of the GTB/4 were built, plus 19 racing versions of this Berlinetta; In addition, 122 units were created of the equally famous GTS/4, the Spider, presented in 1969.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl