In 1966 Lamborghini unveiled the Miura sports car. We might say that this was the moment when Enzo Ferrari might have regret telling Lamborghini to focus on his tractors and let him worry about the cars. So it was his move, unless he wanted his sales to hurt a lot.

In 1966 Pininfarina designer Leonardo Fioravanti decided is time for him to create something unique. He took a standard 330 GTC chassis and mostly focused on improving its aerodynamics. So, in the autumn of 1968 at the Paris Motor Show Ferrari was presenting the 365 GTB (365 being the size of one cylinder in cubic centimeters, 4 referring to the engine’s four cams), also known as the "Daytona" in recognition of the Ferrari 1-2-3 victory in the Daytona 24-Hour Race in 1967.

The 356 GTB4 was the last model made by Ferrari before Enzo sold his company to Fiat in June 1969. It was also the last 12-cylinder Ferrari to be sold new in the USA (through official channels) until 1984, when the Testarossa was announced.

1968 - 1973 Ferrari 365 GTB4

Specifications
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  • Model: 1968 - 1973 Ferrari 365 GTB4
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The 365 GTB4 featured a long, wide, and sharp, almost shark-like sweeping nose, with a large expanse of bonnet with twin rectangular exhaust air slots, running into the set-back cabin section, that flowed straight into the abrupt angled Kamm tail, on which were mounted a pair of twin circular light units above each quarter bumper. The body was designed by Pininfarina, and constructed by Scaglietti, normally in steel with aluminum doors, bonnet, and boot lid, although later in the production run the doors were changed to steel, and bracing struts provided within them for USA market examples, once again due to changes in legislative requirements.

It was powered by a 4,4 liter V12 engine with an output of 352 at 7500 rpm. The USA market cars were also fitted with a number of devices to control exhaust gas emissions, including a fast idle device, and an exhaust manifold air injection system. The engine drove through a flywheel-mounted clutch, via a shaft running at engine speed in a torque tube, to a five-speed transaxle mounted similarly to that of the 275 GTB4 model, and then by drive shafts to the independently suspended rear wheels, with wishbones, coil spring and hydraulic shock absorbers to each wheel.

A test drive made by AutoCar in 1971 revealed the following performances: 0-60 mph time of 5.4 seconds, a 0-100 mph time of 12.6 seconds, a standing start quarter mile time of 13.4 seconds at a terminal velocity of 104 mph, and a top speed of 174 mph. In 1974 Road&Track reported a top speed of 186 mph.