Part 1: Hot Wheels 1:18 Ferrari 365 GTB Daytona Coupe

One of my all-time favorite Ferrari's is the 365 Daytona.  Blame it on Miami Vice for getting hooked on its sleek styling, but also its aggressive power and sound.  Still looks good today.  For years I've enjoyed the 1:64 versions, but now thanks to patient waiting and a second trip to the Antique Store in North Carolina where the car resided, I finally got this 1:18 Daytona for $35 on sale, much less than the original $75 asking price the last time I was there, and perfect timing since this is the last year for the Hot Wheels 1:18 Ferrari Elite line, and maybe Ferrari in its entirely for Mattel since they plan not to renew the copyright contract license for 2015.

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The Sleek Daytona

Introduced at the 1968 Paris Auto Show, the 365 was the answer to the Lamborghini's Miura, though Ferrari still used the traditional front-engine, rear-drive V-12 layout, but now used edgier body styling done by Pininfarina.  It was a bit much to take in to some Ferrari loyalist and general public, but after years of aging those who didn't like it started to appreciate the classic styling of the Ferrari.  The first versions had exposed headlights behind a clear cover with a silver stripe in between.  Thanks to US federal regulations the setup was deemed not safe, so Ferrari replaced it with pop-up headlights that still retail the clean wedge-shape front.  The hood has two scoops to an otherwise smooth body panels, especially the side with only the body line and keyhole visible (the door latch is at the top edge of the window).  The rear features quad taillights (a hallmark for later Ferrari's, same split bumper, and my favorite those aggressive quad exhaust sticking out from the several mufflers that reside underneath and are visible from the sides of the car.  The chassis is the same as previous Ferrari's with 5-speed manual transaxle, upper and lower control arms on all four wheels, and wheels ranging from the 5-spoke (shown) to the wire wheels with the spinner center caps.

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The engine is the same Columbo 268 Cid DOHC V-12 with six Weber two-barrel carburetors, two distributor caps, and two oil filters in front of the carbs, producing 352 hp. and 315 Ib-ft. torque through a car weighing 3,600 Ib's.  The interior features the famous ribbed Daytona seats for two, shifter and parking brake on the console, with power window switches next to the shifter.  The dash features a comprehensive gauge package behind the large 3-spoke steering wheel.  The switches in the center are for the ventilation controls even though the only vents are up higher on the dash.  The trunk is small, but better than nothing.  The Daytona was the last V-12 Ferrari for a few decades as future Ferrari's followed the lines of the Dino 246 with a mid-engine setup and wedge profile.

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The beautiful 1:18 by Hot Wheels

By ways it's no Elite, which features a two-tone tan/black interior, more interior details including wood trim, detailed exterior touches like front grille and rear plate, and detailed engine bay with hood undercover.  Otherwise, it's the same as the first version here, introduced in 1999.  The red paint still looks good, and my usual cleaning this up good and using Armor-All on the plastic and rubber parts add more visual pop to this car.  The front has detailed grille, bumper, and headlight below the covers, along with the side marker lights.  Hood with two vents, wiper blades, chrome window trim, Pininfarina badge on the right front fender, rear taillights with silver inner cover, silver trim, FERRARI on trunk, and chrome bumper, and those awesome exhaust tips!  Now it may seem like Hot Wheels neglected to put the outside mirrors on this casting, but I've seen some of these Daytona's in the pictures without any exterior mirrors!

 

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The base shows the typical drivetrain details, but the real gem is the exhaust from the headers, to the eight mufflers, exiting to the quad tips at the rear.  The 5-spoke wheels are cool, though wire wheels with spinners would've been awesome (the Hot Wheels 1:18 Elite Spider and Coupe offers them), with brake calipers that stay still as the wheels move, and the rubber tires look adequate to handle this car. 

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The interior shows off some nice touches, though the all-black look is a bit drabby.  The seats are nicely done with the ribbed insert, though the back shelf could've done a better job covering the hole for one of the mounting screws.  The console looks good with the 3D parking brake and shifter, the dash with the gauges (though a sticker) are nicely detailed, along with the silver switch gear and door panels with silver accents.  Not much, but not bad either.   The trunk opens in the rear to nothing special.

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Open the hood to see the underhood cover etched on the hood and the functional scoops, then look down to see the V-12 in all its glory with chrome butterfly intakes, carbs, chrome valve covers with outer black bands with FERRARI on the strips, the chrome belt drive, the dual oil filters, and the details on the fenders that include the brake master cylinder and booster to the battery (you can get those detailed in the Elite version).  I would've loved to see spark plug wires from the dual distributors to the valve covers, but I guess you can add those as your own custom touch.  As my added touch I added a rubber air cleaner cover to the butterfly valves, though it was tough to do and I could've used cardboard as an easy alternative, but it'll do (plus it conveniently fits in the rear trunk when not in use).

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Wow, what a find!  Enjoy the pictures!