The 24 Hours of Daytona is one of the most legendary and iconic races in the world. The race is part of the Triple Crown of Endurance racing which is one of the hardest achievements ever for a driver as it includes also the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 12 Hours of Sebring.
A lot of legendary cars have participated and dominated this track. The first race was held in 1962, and for the past 60 years, Daytona hosted some of the greatest and most insane race cars ever made.
What makes this race so unique is that it's not just the engine power that's very important, but also reliability, which is a key factor as drivers test the limits of the cars for 24 hours.
10 Ferrari 330 P4
Ferrari is known to make incredibly beautiful cars and the 330 P4 is arguably one of the most breath-taking racing cars to ever participate in the 24 Hours of Daytona. The Ferrari 330 P4 dominated and won in 1967.
It was powered by a 4.0-liter V12 that produced 445 horsepower, pushing the car to a top speed of 198 mph. In fact, Ferrari was so far superior to its rivals that all the three spots on the podium belonged to them. Only four units of the 330 P4 were ever made.
9 Porsche Carrera RSR
The RSR was a true beast as it won the competition in 1973, 1975, and 1977. The Porsche was powered by a 2.8-liter flat-six cylinder engine that produced 280 horsepower and could push the car to a top speed of 170 mph.
The interesting thing is that the RSR in 1973 entered the race as a prototype because Porsche had not built 500 units of the car for homologation purposes. Only 55 units have been ever made and now they are worth millions of dollars. The Martini livery made this car even more legendary.
8 BMW 3.0 CSL
In 1976 the BMW 3.0 CSL, also known as the Batmobile due to its back fins, completely dominated the Daytona. This is one of the fastest race cars that BMW had built up to that point. The CSL was powered by a 3.0-liter straight-six cylinder engine that produced 430 horsepower and could push the car to a top speed of 170 mph.
The car truly dominated the racing scene in the early '70s by winning six European Touring Car Titles. Only 167 units were ever made of this peculiar-looking beast.
7 Nissan R91 CP
This rocket is the first-ever Japanese car to win the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1991. The car was powered by a roaring twin-turbo 3.5-liter V8 that produced 670 horsepower and could push the car to a top speed of 180 mph, accelerating from 0 to 62 mph in just 2.8 seconds.
The car was so much faster than the competition that it won by a ten-lap margin and set a yet unbeaten record of 762 laps made throughout the race.
6 Chevrolet Corvette C5-R
The C5-R is one of the most dominant American cars ever made as, in 55 races that it competed in, it won 31 times and arrived on the podium 50 times. The Corvette won the Daytona in 2001. It was powered by a 7.0-liter V8 that produced 610 horsepower and could push the car to a top speed of 190 mph.
The car in the same year also won in its class at the other legendary endurance race, the 24 Hour of Le Mans, 34 laps ahead of the next competitor.
5 Porsche 911 GT3-RS
Porsche is truly an expert at winning endurance races with multiple victories at Le Mans and Daytona. The GT3-RS dominated the 2003 season thanks to its legendary boxer engine.
In fact, the car was powered by a 3.6-liter flat-six cylinder that produced 450 horsepower and can push it to 190 mph. That year, the car was so incredibly fast that it also won the 24 Hour of Spa. The 911 GT3-RS is the last Porsche ever to win Daytona.
4 Ford GT40
Other than being one of the coolest cars ever made by Ford, the GT40 dominated every single race and category in the late '60s. The GT40 won the Daytona in 1965 and 1966 with legendary pilot Ken Myles at the wheel.
The car was powered by a beefy all-American 7.0-liter V8 that produced 425 horsepower and could reach the top speed of 213 mph. The only goal of Ford was to beat Ferrari in every single competition and they did.
3 Dodge Viper GTS-R
The racing variant of the Dodge Viper won the Daytona 2000. The car was powered by an 8.0-liter V10 that produced 620 horsepower and could reach the top speed of 200 mph. This is another car that has dominated everywhere it competed.
In fact, the Viper won the Daytona and Le Mans competitions in 2000 as well as the Spa and Nürburgring in 2001 and 2002. The car won 23 driver championships in the late '90s and early 2000s. In total, the Viper has won more than 160 races out of the 260 it participated in.
2 Porsche 935
The Porsche 935 won six consecutive Daytonas between 1978 and 1983. It was simply too fast and the only car that managed to beat it was another Porsche, the 83G. The 935 was powered by a twin-turbo 3.3-liter flat-six cylinder engine that produced 845 horsepower and could easily reach the top speed of 211 mph.
In 1979, the 935 won everything there was to win: the Daytona, Le Mans, Sebring, and the FIA World Championships. This car is considered one of the best Porsche racing cars of all time.
1 Cadillac DPI-V.R
This Cadillac won the 24 Hour of Daytona four consecutive times from 2017 until 2020. It was powered by a 6.2-liter V8 that produced 600 horsepower and could attain a top speed of 200 mph and accelerate from 0 to 62 mph in just 3.7 seconds.
This DPI-V.R represented the first racing car produced by Cadillac in over 15 years since the 2002 Le Mans American series. One of the most peculiar aspects of this car is the long back fin that massively improved the Cadillac's aerodynamic performance.