1971 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Competitizione

History

Two prototype competition versions of the 365 GTB/4 'Daytona' were campaigned by Luigi Chinetti and his North American Racing Team (N.A.R.T.) before Ferrari lent their support. Fifteen 'Competition' versions were eventually built in three series of five cars each. Rather than being built by Ferrari's competition department, they were constructed by the Assistenza Clienti division.

The first series of five cars were equipped with unmodified engines from the road-going cars. The second batch of five cars was tuned to produce 400 horsepower, and the third batch of five had 450 horsepower engines.

The Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Competition models were not campaigned by the factory team; rather, they were raced by privateers. Among the accolades achieved was a 5th overall in 1971 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and GT class victories at Le Mans in 1972, 1973 and 1974. During the 1972 Le Mans race, the Ferrari 365 GTB/4s captured the top five places in the GT category.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2005