The Daytona SP3 is Ferrari’s latest retro-styled Icona car, and it’s an absolute humdinger.
Inspired by the 1960s P4 racers that kicked Ford’s ass at the 1967 Daytona 24 Hours, coming home 1-2-3, it’s designed with just enough retro cues to pay tribute to the P4 without ending up looking like a cheesy pastiche.
The SP3 follows Ferrari’s first Icona models, the front-engined Monza SP1 and SP2, which took their inspiration from Ferrari’s late 1950s sports racers, and were built around its modern front-engined V12 coupe, the 812 Superfast.
Related: Ferrari Daytona SP3 Is A Limited Run Hypercar With “Pop-Up” Headlights And An 829-HP V12
But where should Ferrari go next? Who’d like to see one of these five classic Ferraris get an Icona update?
Ferrari 512 S
Ferrari’s rival for the mighty Porsche 917 was fast, but never as successful, so it doesn’t get anything like the same exposure today. But the 512 S did win the 12 Hours of Sebring, and it’s important because it’s the last monster-engined Ferrari sports car, with the FIA outlawing its 5.0-liter engine from 1972 by bringing in a 3.0-liter capacity limit.
Ferrari 312 PB
The 312 PB was the last great closed-wheel Ferrari racer before the company devoted itself to F1 at the end of 1973. Powered by a 3.0-liter 180-degree V12, the 312 won every World Sportscar Championship race it entered in 1972, securing the title for Ferrari that year. Imagine a modern homage based on a LaFerrari chassis and running gear, but dressed in full-square-sided, screen-less 1970s garb.
Ferrari 365 P Berlinetta Speciale
The 365 P Tre-Posti was fun for three (or fun for one and terrifying for the other two) more than 25 years before McLaren’s F1 sent the supercar world into a spin. What looks at first glance like a fatter Dino actually had a central driving position and six extra cylinders mounted behind the seats. Ferrari built just two units, making it one of the company’s rarest and coolest cars, and definitely one worth revisiting.
Dino 206 S
With its new V6 engine, the latest 296 GTB could make a great base for a tribute to the cute and curvy Dino 206, a Piero Drogo-designed baby sports car that bagged a bunch of class wins at big-name events like the Targa Florio, Spa, and the Nürburgring. It may have not worn Ferrari’s Prancing Horse, but that was because Enzo didn’t want six-cylinder cars alongside his more prestigious, and expensive, V12s and flat-twelves.
Ferrari 288 GTO Evoluzione
A brutal-looking stepping stone between the 288 GTO and the F40, the 288 Evo was built to race in Group B but never got the chance to turn a wheel in anger after Group B was cancelled following some high profile rallying accidents. Six cars were built, each getting a tuned version of the regular 288’s engine boosted from 395 hp (400 PS) to 650 hp (659 PS).
If you were running Ferrari’s Icona program which vintage Maranello product would you draw inspiration from, and what current car would it be based on?