Ferrari 365 GTB / 4 Competizione car history 

Vehicle technical details
Manufacturer:	Ferrari
Production:	1971 to 1973
Class:	race car
Total production:	15
Top speed:	290 km / h
Body and chassis
Body styles:	Coupe
Doors:	2
Chassis/body:	aluminum body
Suspension:	wishbone axle, coil springs
Engine and Powertrain
Drive:	rear
Engine Type:	V12 4.4 liters
Displacement:	4390 cc
Engine power:	(265-331 kW)
Transmission:	5-speed gearbox
Steering:	Rack and pinion
Cooling:	water cooling
Brakes:	Four-wheel disc brakes
Fuel supply:	6 twin carburettors Weber 40 DCN20
Weights and Dimensions
Wheelbase:	2400 mm
Length:	4425 mm
Width:	1760 mm
Height:	1245 mm
Weight:	1230-1380 kg

The Ferrari 365 GTB / 4 Competizione is a competition car of the Italian car manufacturer Ferrari , which was derived from the road sports car 365 GTB / 4 , the so-called Ferrari Daytona. In three series differing in details emerged from 1971 to 1973, following two prototypes, a total of 15 vehicles that were used until the early 1980s in sports car and long-distance races. None of the cars was factory fitted by the Scuderia Ferrari ; racing was organized exclusively by private customers.

History

Although the 365 GTB / 4 was initially not intended for use in motorsport, Ferrari developed from 1969 on customer request a competitive version of the coupe. The impetus for this had given Ferrari's US importer Luigi Chinetti , who maintained the automobile racing stable North American Racing Team (NART) since 1957 . Chinetti ordered in early 1969 a 365 GTB / 4 with a specially made of aluminum body, which received the chassis number 12547th Following him and a second prototype, emerged in 1971 (Series 1), 1972 (Series 2) and 1973 (Series 3) annually five "Competizione" models of the 365 GTB / 4. The three series differed in technical details from each other. All 15 Competizione copies were created in contrast to the street versions not in the Carrozzeria Scaglietti , but in Ferrari's own service department Assistenza Clienti .  The cars were invariably sold to private customers who organized then the race inserts itself. A use of the Competizione by the factory team Scuderia Ferrari did not exist.

The first competition car based on the GTB / 4 was Luigi Chinetti's custom-built aluminum body (chassis number 12547) from 1969. The following year, Ferrari rebuilt a standard GTB / 4 with steel body (12467) in accordance with competition criteria. The car is considered the forerunner of the regular Competizione models.

The majority of the Competizione models were supplied to Ferrari importers in North America, France , Switzerland and the United Kingdom . They took on eleven of the 15 vehicles as first-time customers and used the cars in their own racing teams in long-distance races before they sold them to independent customers.

In 1971, the first series of the Competizione models was born. It included the vehicles with the chassis numbers 14407, 14429, 14437, 14885 and 14889.

Series 1: The bodies of all Series 1 vehicles were made entirely of aluminum sheets, and attachments including the hood and rear window were made of plastic. The first three vehicles of this series (chassis numbers 14407, 14429, 14437) also had side windows made of plexiglass. As a result, and through further savings, the weight of the roadworthy car dropped by more than 200 kg to about 1230 kg. Stylistically, the racing versions basically corresponded to the series Berlinettas. Changes, however, concerned the design of the front end: waiving the bumper, the double headlights were covered by angular plastic lenses, which should allow maximum light output. In addition, the wheel arches were slightly exposed, and on the front fenders were baffles. The Competizione models took over the Tipo-251- twin-cylinder of the production GTB / 4. The engine was only slightly revised for this series. The measures included an increase in compression to 9.3  : 1. The engine power increased to about 360 hp (265 kW) at 7700 revolutions per minute. 

In 1972, Ferrari built five copies of an evolved Competizione. The series includes the vehicles with the chassis numbers 15225, 15373, 15667, 15681 and 15685.

Series 2: The Series 2 cars, unlike the Series 1 models, had a steel sheet body; only the doors and hoods were plastic. so that the weight of the car increased to 1380 kg.  The vehicles were equipped with front 9-inch rear and 11-inch wheels. Therefore, the wheel arches were much wider exposed than the Series 1 models. Otherwise, there were no significant external changes. The compression of the engine was increased again, it was now at 10.1  :  1. The power increased to 402 hp (296 kW) at 8300 revolutions per minute. The Series 2 models reached a top speed of more than 290 km / h.

Series 3: The five built in 1973 Series 3 vehicles had the chassis numbers 16343, 16363, 16367, 16407 and 16425.Externally, the cars largely corresponded to the Series 2 models; They also had a steel body with plastic hoods. The weight was unchanged at 1380 kg. The engine has been significantly revised; he was now much more powerful. Although the compression dropped to 9.9  :  1. Through modified pistons with chrome-plated piston rings, forged connecting rods and modified camshafts, the engine output nevertheless increased to 450 hp (331 kW) at 8300 rpm. The top speed was above 290 km / h.

Most Competizione models went to the North American NART team of Luigi Chinetti, on which the development of the model indirectly decreased. NART took over both prototypes and then each a model of the first (14489) and the second series (15685) and three copies of the third series (16343, 16367 and 16407).NART used the cars from 1970 to 1975 in selected US and French long-distance races. The best result with a Competizione scored the team at the 24-hour race of Daytona in 1973 , the Luigi Chinetti jr. , Bob Grossman and Wilbur Shaw reached fifth overall.

Charles Pozzi , the French Ferrari importer, bought a car from each series (14407, 15667 and 16363). Pozzi used the cars only in French races. The reported by him Competizione models achieved the greatest success of the series. They were class winner in 1972 and 1973 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and also drove the overall victory at the Tour de France for automobiles in 1972 .

Georges Filipinetti , the Swiss Ferrari importer, each bought a Series 1 (14437) and Series 2 (15225) vehicle. He used the cars in 1971 and 1972 via his Geneva- based Scuderia Filipinetti . After the death of Filipinetti in the spring of 1973, the motorsport program of his racing team ended before a Competizione the third series could be delivered.

Maranello Concessionaires , the British Ferrari importer led by Ronnie Hoare , took only one Competizione. The team bought a second-series car (15681) and launched it with the three British riders Peter Westbury , John Hine and Mark Konig at the 1972 Le Mans 24 Hours . The car failed after engine damage. Hoare then sold the car to a British customer who re-registered it at Le Mans the following year . Again, the Ferrari fell out due to technical reasons.

The Belgian racer Jacques Swaters , owner of the Écurie Francorchamps , each took a vehicle of the second (15373) and third series (16425). In 1972 and 1973 , the team competed with Teddy Pilette and other riders for the 24 Hours of Le Mans and was eighth and twentieth.

Filipinetti, NART and Pozzi usually sold the wagons they reported after the first missions to private customers, who in turn often, but not consistently, reported the cars to competitions. Some vehicles came at least temporarily into familiar hands. The former Filipinetti car with the chassis number 14437, for example, was reported in 1977 for the actor and amateur racer Paul Newman for the 24 Hours of Daytona . Newman and his co-drivers Milt Minter and Elliot Forbes-Robinson finished fifth overall. The actor Robert "Bobby" Carradine took over 1977 a former NART car (chassis number 16407) and brought it until 1978 with Modena Sports Cars and Dan Ward Racing have been at the start three times in endurance races.

Race History 

Luigi Chinetti announced the first prototype (12547) for NART at the 1969 Le Mans 24 Hours . He personally picked up the car in Maranello in June 1969 immediately prior to the first mission, nonstop the 1200 km journey to Le Mans and then sent the car directly to a training race without any further changes, maintenance, repairs or conversions After a few laps, the photoelectric barrier measurement attested a speed of over 305 km / h. The car did not finish the race because he was involved in an accident with another NART Ferrari. Both vehicles were eliminated.

From 1971 to 1975, the 365 GBT / 4 Competizione were then regularly reported to endurance races in the US and in France, occasionally they appeared in other countries. Many have been used at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Daytona, as well as the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen . As of 1975, the racing missions of the Competizione subsided; private drivers reported their cars sporadically until 1981. A recent moderate success scored the US Team Modena Sports Cars in the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1979 , the John Morton and Tony Adamowicz in a six-year-old, originally NART-used model of the third series (16407) as a total second and class winner ended.

In the following years, some 365 GTB / 4 Competizione were still at mountain races and similar events at the start. Meanwhile, some vehicles are reported to events in historic motor racing. 

At the races in Le Mans and Daytona the 365 GTB / 4 Competizione were initially not yet homologated for the Gran Tourismo class, because the minimum production of 500 vehicles required for GT approval was only reached in mid-1971. By 1971, the 365 GTB / 4 Competizione started instead in the class "sports cars up to 5 liters displacement" in which they competed with pure competition vehicles such as the Porsche 917 or the Ford GT40 .  The first classification in the GT class took place in 1972. With this clean slate and class victories were possible for the 365 GTB / 4. The first victory in the GT class (with the 5th place in the standings) reached Claude Ballot-Léna and Jean-Claude Andruet withCharles Pozzi's Series 2 Competizione (15667) at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1972 . The following year, Ballot-Léna and Vic Elford repeated this success with Pozzi's third-tier model 16363.