Drive Cult Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona

Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona: The Daytona gets detailed

Matthew Lange — 2012-04-12T08:42:33+00:00

Richard Tipper and the Perfection Limited team restore the Daytona's shine.

For a car that was last restored nearly thirty years ago the general condition of the Daytona is still rather good. The paint looks relatively fresh at events like Goodwood Breakfast Clubs, and it draws plenty of compliments. There's still plenty of room for improvement though, with the Interior and engine bay in particular need of attention. To ensure the Daytona looks its best for the summer season, I asked Richard Tipper of Perfection Limited (known as @perfectionvalet on Twitter) to give the Daytona a...

Published in: Ferrari 365GTB4 Daytona

Mini Cooper S: The Palomar Mountain Road Run

James Wolfcale — 2012-04-11T04:14:40+00:00

A day of driving and astronomical history at 5000 feet.

Since I’ve lived in San Diego, just about every car enthusiast I’ve chatted with has told me that I simply had to get up to Palomar Mountain Road, and since I had a free Monday this week, I did just that.

Palomar Mountain is about an hour north of San Diego near the suburb of Escondido. There’s a state park and an observatory at the top and not much else. There are a few roads that will get you to the top, but by far the most interesting is Palomar Mountain Road. It’s a twisting stretch of tarmac that...

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Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona: The Daytona is back on the road

Matthew Lange — 2012-03-17T12:23:47+00:00

The Surrey hills are alive to the sound of a Ferrari V12 once more!

Spring finally sprung in the south east of England last weekend. For most this is the sound of birds singing and daffodils coming into bloom. For me, however, it was an overdue chance to fire up the four cam V12 of the Daytona and take it for a drive.

In truth, this was not actually the first time the car has been driven this year. My mechanic Vince took the car for its annual MOT test a couple of weeks beforehand, and I'm pleased to say it sailed through. In my last update I referred to the possibility...

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Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona: Looking back and looking forward

Matthew Lange — 2011-12-29T14:22:19+00:00

Reviewing the Daytona's year and looking ahead to 2012. Plus, how does driving a Daytona on Forza Motorsport 4 compare to the real thing?

The weather may be unseasonably warm here in the UK, but it is still rather too wet - and the roads rather too mucky - for the the Daytona to venture out, and I have to say I'm missing it rather a lot.

Reflecting back on the year with the Daytona, once again I probably didn't manage to use it as much as I like. There are a couple of good reasons for this. Firstly, and as I have mentioned before, the huge fuel costs in the UK make the Daytona an expensive beast. A full tank of Shell V-Power is in the...

Published in: Ferrari 365GTB4 Daytona

Mini Cooper S: Driving the Mini for the Sake of Driving

James Wolfcale — 2011-12-21T07:21:21+00:00

Jamie decides to cut out the distractions and rediscover how much fun driving can be.

As people who love cars, it’s sometimes easy for petrolheads to get caught up with all the peripherals that come with loving cars. Races, auto shows, car magazines and websites are all things we love, but I don’t think I’m alone in saying that it’s sometimes easy to forget why we all came to love cars in the first place: driving.

I recently decided to remind myself what all fuss was about by heading east out of San Diego down Route 94. If you were to take 94 east out of downtown, you would initially be...

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Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona: The Daytona at the Goodwood Revival and an autumn spruce-up

Matthew Lange — 2011-10-09T17:30:41+00:00

A roundup of the latest news with the Daytona.

The time when the winter weather requires the Daytona to go into hibernation is fast approaching, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been using it recently.

You may have seen the picture of the Daytona in the car park for the Goodwood Revival in Drive Cult's galleries of the event. When I had booked the tickets I was informed that despite my particular Daytona being registered in September 1973 and therefore not strictly eligible, it would still be allowed into the pre-1973 car park. For our international...

Published in: Ferrari 365GTB4 Daytona

Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona: Taking the Ferrari Daytona to Chelsea Auto Legends

Matthew Lange — 2011-09-12T19:53:04+00:00

The Daytona joins the Ferrari parade to Chelsea Auto Legends.

Sunday 4th September saw the Chelsea Auto Legends event held in the grounds of the Royal Hospital in London’s most salubrious borough. In its second year, a new innovation for the event was a number of supercar parades around London before arriving at the event. Jonathan Tremlett of the Ferrari Owners Club GB asked if I could possibly bring the Daytona, since they were looking for some of the classic models for the parade. My wife and I had a free day so we happily accepted the request.

The Owners Club...

Published in: Ferrari 365GTB4 Daytona

Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona: (Very) Long Term test update 14: Battling the Elements

Matthew Lange — 2011-07-21T20:10:09+00:00

A Sunday morning breakfast and a desire for cake results in the Daytona getting a soaking.

It's difficult to express in words why the Daytona is, to my mind, such a great car. In quantifiable terms it's old, the handling is no match for modern cars and it lacks creature comforts that are taken for granted in even the most basic of modern motor vehicles - like central locking, for example.

In the latest edition of Evo magazine, Chris Harris has inadvertently provided an answer to this question. In his long-term review of the Mercedes SLS that he currently has custody of, he refers to the...

Published in: Ferrari 365GTB4 Daytona

Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona: (Very) long term test update 13: A question of value and other matters

Matthew Lange — 2011-07-10T10:24:29+00:00

The Daytona ventures out of its garage again, plus a review of the current market for Daytonas.

I've been travelling overseas a lot over the last few months and as a result, I'm slightly ashamed to admit that until last Sunday the Daytona hadn't ventured out of the garage for two months. Other commitments may have got in the way but it's disappointing to have lost a good chunk of the UK summer not driving the car.

The lack of driving was remedied last Sunday when I took the opportunity to give my Drive Cult colleague Jamie Wolfcale a ride in the big red V12 machine. Jamie had just come back from...

Published in: Ferrari 365GTB4 Daytona

Mazda MX-5: Final report: Mazda MX-5

Martin Spain — 2011-05-30T09:07:01+00:00

The little Mazda just didn't endear itself to me, so with spring approaching it was time to sell up and move on.

I've been struggling to write this end-of-term report for the MX-5. Not in the same way that my friend and colleague Jack Wood did for his beloved and sorely missed Porsche Cayman, but because I couldn't quite articulate why the MX-5 and I never 'clicked'. Now, I know that sounds like the sort of rubbish excuse you'd give to someone you've been on a blind date with but you just don't fancy, but as petrolheads we all know that sometimes you just don't gel with certain cars, and so it was with me and the...

Published in: Mazda MX-5