Words – Ross Brown
When three Ferrari sports racers crossed the finish line side-by-side at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1967, few could have imagined that the ripples of victory would still be reverberating over fifty years later.
It became one of the most iconic images in motor sport, and the word Daytona became not just a byword for Ferrari success, but the inspiration for the limited-edition Ferrari Daytona SP3.
The mid-engine 6.5 litre V12 car joined the Icona series in November last year (which is also home to the Monza SP1 and SP2) and is based on the legendary sports racers of the sixties and seventies, including the famous 330 P4 which crossed the Daytona finish line that day in 1967.
Its design, aerodynamics and chassis epitomise the very essence of racing spirit, a fact that did not go unnoticed at the prestigious Red Dot Awards this month, where it collected the Red Dot: Best of The Best 2022. And, just like that 330 P4 from the ‘60s, it wasn’t alone. Ferrari scooped four prizes, with Red Dot awards also going to the 812 Competizione, 812 Competizione A and 296 GTB.
The Red Dot Award celebrates excellence and innovative work by the world’s best designers and is considered one of the most important and prestigious design industry prizes. It has been running since 1955, and between 2015 and 2022 Ferrari have won a total of 23 awards (including the Red Dot: Best of the Best no less than seven times), something no other car manufacturer has come close to achieving in the award’s 68-year history.
This year the Ferrari Daytona SP3 followed in the footsteps of the FXX-K, the 488 GTB, the J50, the Portofino, the Monza SP1 and the SF90 Stradale.
These international accolades once again underline the work of the Ferrari Design Centre, headed by Flavio Manzoni, devising cutting-edge solutions that make the Maranello-based manufacturer’s cars unique without compromising that essential connection between aesthetics and functionality – a fundamental element of Ferrari’s DNA.
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