It must have been a test of Enzo Ferrari's resolve to sanction the car that the 365GTB/4, aka Daytona, became. When Lamborghini presented a mid-engined rolling chassis at the 1965 Turin Salon to preview the following year's Miura, it made Ferrari's incumbent 275GTB look archaic. That was to be expected.
But to resist the temptation to follow suit with such a configuration for the 275's successor took guts - or perhaps just good old-fashioned instinct about what buyers really wanted.
History proved Enzo right, though. When Daytona production finished 50 years ago, 1406 Berlinetta and Spider models had been builtalmost double the trendsetting Lamborghini's total. And, while it was to be Ferrari's final throw of the two-seater, frontV12-engined dice until the 550 Maranello emerged 23 years later, there was no doubting its impact: "This is the most exciting projectile we have ever been fortunate enough to handle,' said Autocar in its September 1971 road test of the new 365GTB/4.
While the Miura wowed with its new-age design and technology, the Daytona was the more complete package, its traditional underpinnings wrapped up in a Pininfarina body that was, in its own way, just as contemporary as that of the Miura yet blessed with a degree of long-distance GT practicality for which the Lamborghini had no answer. That was perfectly demonstrated when Dan Gurney and Brock Yates won the 1971 Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash in a Daytona, the pro-racer and renowned scribe blasting across the States in 35 hours and 54 minutes, covering 2876 miles at an average speed of 80.1mph. "We never once exceeded 175 miles per hour," joked Gurney.
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A Breath of Fresh Air- Alfa Romeo's exotic, V8-powered Montreal was like nothing the marque had made before, but can it compare with a Porsche masterpiece, the 911S 2.4?
The stereotype of the ItaloGermanic automotive rivalry is that the Latin car will be brilliant to drive, but poorly built and ergonomically flawed, while the Teutonic will be the opposite. Yet these 2+2 sports coupés both ran against orthodoxy. In the Montreal, Alfa Romeo created an outlandish-looking two-door more comfortable, more powerful and more refined than anything it had produced for decades. Meanwhile, Porsche continued to refine its back-to-front, austere and increasingly aged 911. Neither took a traditional development path, but both created thrilling and individual cars that have echoed through the decades.
Daring to be diminutive
AMC's Gremlin and Pacer, and Ford's much-derided Pinto, led America's response to the threat of imported European compacts
THE LONG WAY ROUND
There is a great tradition of overland trips by Land-Rover, but the tale of this 70s Aussie epic and the car itself was discovered by chance
Handsome cab
The Phantom V limousine marked the beginning of the end for coachbuilder James Young, but this Rolls-Royce represents the craft at its very best
DOING IT FOR THEMSELVES
Racing for their own F1 teams brought some drivers success and an enduring legacy. For others, it turned into a nightmare
20 30 LITRES CYLINDERS, 400BHP......AND MORE THAN A CENTURY OLD
Thunderous torque, flame-spitting stub-exhausts, white-knuckle thrills - and hopefully no spills - aboard a trio of Edwardian racing titans
ICON.
The three top-selling vehicles in the USA in 2023 were pick-ups, topped by the Ford F-Series. This is the truck that started it all
Blurred Lines
lan 'Del' Lines blended the V8 burble of Triumph's open GT with real practicality in his Stag V8 saloons and estates
Home of the brave
The innovative Silverstone proved a hit with keen amateur drivers. To mark its 75th, Healey's club racer returns to the circuit for which it is named
PLAYING ALL THE ANGLES
Alfa Romeo's wild RZ eschewed the jellymould styling of the period to offer a striking, wedge-shaped take on open-topped performance motoring