No 1970s car exudes more Hollywood allure than the 365 GTB/4, known colloquially as the “Daytona.” Not only was it coveted by movie stars and rock gods, but it had several memorable screen appearances itself. One role in Robert Altman’s Elliott Gould-starring ode to Film Noir, .
Perhaps most famously, a convertible version starred in 1976’s with and Barbra Streisand in the passenger seat. Now, just as that movie inspired a few years back, the 365 GTB/4 is having a revival. Ferrari design head Flavio Manzoni likes to suggest that all from the Italian exotic automaker are of-the-moment, reflecting their time.
But he has not been shy in discussing the historical inspiration for the brand’s new, $459,000 two-seater, the . Manzoni that the front end and overall shape echo the Daytona. The Daytona was released in 1968, a paradigm shifting year in global history, marked by student protests, political assassinations, preparations for the lunar landing, and the emergence of a .
Automotive design was then, as always, at once inspiring popular culture and responding to it. The late 1960s saw the rise of a more planar and angular language in cars, one that was less adorned, and more aligned with the . Luxury vehicles became more bunker-like — sensible given the social unrest, bombings, and kidnappings, on the world’s city streets.
Sports cars and supercars followed a similar trend, becoming lower, sharper, and more creased, almost as if they wanted to sneak under detection,.
