Daytona under the spotlight

WHAT A JOY it is to be kicking off my time at Octane with a wonderful Viola Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona on the cover. If any car in any colour better epitomised its era, or captured the swagger of what so many consider to be the last truly iconic frontengined GT, it is hard to think of it.

Confession time: for years I was one of those philistines that happily uttered the words ‘truck’ and ‘Daytona’ in the same sentence. This was not motivated by some kind of inverted snobbery or jealousy, it was simply that it seemed an entirely reasonable description for the examples that I had driven (briefly) up to then, and the car-stifling circumstances in which I had done so.

But then, inevitably, I got behind the wheel of a good one, and did so somewhere the Ferrari had the space to canter, to gallop even. Suddenly the purpose of this remarkable car (and how amazingly effective it is at achieving it) hit me between the eyes. Until the Porsche 928 came along, there was simply no better device for crossing a continent at speed and in comfort – but without such levels of civility as to dull the senses – with the bonus of a crackling V12 to hum along to as you flicked the ash from your Sobranie Cocktail out of the window. Even after the long-serving V8 Porsche came along, there was still nothing that could do it with the Ferrari’s soul.

You don’t have to take my word for it, either. For our special focus, we have quizzed a group of Daytona disciples ranging from its brilliant designer to long-term owners, all of whom share rare insight into the Daytona’s magic, that ethereal genius that makes it such a legend. And such a tough act to follow.

Having stepped into the shoes of David Lillywhite here at Octane – not to mention Glen Waddington, who kept the seat warm rather better than I would have liked! – I know precisely how the Ferrari’s would-be successors felt.