The Ferrari 330 P3 / 4 that triumphed at the 24 Hours of Daytona on February 6, 1967 is a car that perfectly embodies the spirit of the 1960s Sports Prototypes. The same ones that inspire the new Daytona SP3, the new limited series supercar of the “Icona” family, which arrives in the wake of the Monza SP1 and SP2 boats, unveiled in 2018. Be careful, however, not to mistake it for a nostalgia operation. because in Maranello the mantra is clear: repetition or self-celebration is forbidden. The past? A heritage to be wisely exploited to better grasp the future. After all, the “Icona” line celebrates Ferrari history, drawing lifeblood from the timeless style of the most representative Maranello cars, reinterpreted in a contemporary key and made with the best technologies available.
The suggestions of the Daytona SP3, a “Targa” racing car with a removable hard top made of carbon (there is also a foldable soft top), derive, therefore, from what is considered the golden age of motor racing with covered wheels. reference for engineers and designers. Its mid-engine construction architecture derives from LaFerrari, from which it takes the sophisticated passenger body made of carbon (also the bodywork of composite), to which aluminum subframes are anchored and in which a 6.5-liter naturally aspirated V12 is set. volume and 840 hp of power, with red zone at 9,500 rpm. No electrification here: a question of design purity and weight reduction.
The common thread is the same that unites models such as the 350 Can-Am, the 312 P and the 512 S, made up of voluptuous fenders, a compact cabin embedded in the center of a sculptural car body, as wide as it is low, and “kissed” from aerodynamics, very sophisticated. The leadership of the project was entrusted to the Style Center: this means that, contrary to what usually happens, this time it was the engineering department that had to adapt to the requests of the designers. This explains why the side radiators have been repositioned: an intervention made necessary to create a sort of “virtual corset”, which visually separates the volume of the passenger compartment – aeronautical-style, very enveloping – from that of the tail, which appears longer, with a muscular and tapered rear end. At the rear, on the other hand, the horizontal strips seem to pay homage to the supreme Testarossa and end up giving an abstract aspect to the whole, which goes almost beyond the automobile.
And if the brake light is incorporated in a slit in the rear, there are mobile lids in front that “open the eyes” of the Daytona SP3 only when the high beams are needed, giving the car a more grim expression in the rest of the situations. The headlights, however, are incorporated into hypertrophic fenders, which compete with the bonnet for centimeters in width. In the passenger compartment the seats appear molded on the shapes of the frame, as if they were a cloth: they are fixed and made to measure; it is the positions of the steering wheel and pedals that adapt to the size of the driver, the same to which a passenger compartment that resembles that of a racing car is dedicated. The physical keys are almost absent, replaced by touch surfaces. The 16 ”multifunction digital cockpit, on the other hand, is inserted in a more hollow portion of the dashboard.
The fluid dynamics have been finely studied: it does without obvious wing surfaces, replaced by passive solutions, such as the “extraction chimneys”, which suck air from the bottom of the car and bring it to the level of the bonnet to blow it on the aerodynamic profile of the tail. While the “ducted” doors are designed to better evacuate the air, reducing drag, and bring fresh air to the side radiators. In addition to the dedicated Pirelli Pzero Corsa tires, the car is equipped with the SSC (Side Slip Control) system in version 6.1, which includes the FDE (Ferrari Dynamic Enhancer) system, aimed at optimizing cornering performance: it acts on the braking system to manage the yaw angle in the most extreme driving situations.
Engineering quality almost overshadows performance. Almost: the Daytona SP3 accelerates from 0 to 200 km / h in 7.4 s and from 0 to 100 in just 2.85, going beyond the 340 hours of maximum speed. The transmission uses a dual clutch gearbox and 7 gears. First deliveries at the end of 2022: 599 units will be produced, all already sold-out and each sold at a price of 2 million euros.
Ferrari Daytona SP3 – Technical sheet
MOTOPROPULSORE
Type V12 – 65 °
Total displacement 6496 cm3
Bore and stroke 94 mm x 78 mm
Maximum power * 618 kW (840 hp) at 9250 rpm.
Maximum torque * 697 Nm at 7250 rpm.
Maximum speed 9500 rpm.
Compression ratio 13.6: 1
DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHTS
Length 4686 mm
Width 2050 mm
Height 1142 mm
Wheelbase 2651 mm
Front track 1692 mm
Rear track 1631 mm
Dry weight ** 1485 kg
Dry weight / power ratio ** 1.77 kg / hp
Weight distribution 44% front / 56% post.
Tank capacity 86 liters
TIRES AND RIMS
Front 265/30 ZR 20 J9.0
Rear 345/30 ZR 21 J12.5
BRAKES
Anteriore 398 x 223 x 36 mm
Posteriore 380 x 253 x 34 mm
TRANSMISSION AND EXCHANGE
F1 dual-clutch gearbox and 7-speed
ELECTRONIC CONTROLS
ESC; Performance ABS / EBD; F1-Trac; e-Diff 3.0; SCM-Frs; SSC (Side Slip Control) 6.1
PERFORMANCE
Top speed> 340 km / h
0-100 km/h 2.85 s
0-200 km/h 7.4 s
* Motor power expressed in kW according to the International System of Units (SI) and in hp. With 98 octane petrol and including 5 hp of dynamic supercharging
** Set-up with optional lightening contents