The Ferrari 365 GTB/4 ‘Daytona’

This is the Ferrari 365 GTB/4, a car you’ll more likely know as the ‘Daytona’. Its dizzying Pininfarina-engineered beauty has been causing knees to weaken and eyes to well for decades. That sleek fastback body epitomises the romance and appeal of the Italian Gran Turismo. The ‘Daytona’ is the kind of classic in which you can turn up anywhere on the planet, be it Monaco or Mumbai, and you’ll draw gawping onlookers by the dozen. It starred in Miami Vice and even Elton John owned one. And in the 1970s that was a big deal.

The absolute must-have luxury Grand Tourer in the 1960s and ’70s, the 4.4-litre Colombo V12-powered ‘Daytona’ is no shrinking violet when it comes to hiking up its skirt and getting a move on. Just ask the legendary American racing drivers Brock Yates and Dan Gurney, who, in 1971, famously drove a ‘Daytona’ 2,876 miles from New York City to Redondo Beach in California in a record time of 35 hours and 54 minutes. That’s an average speed of 80.8mph!

This Ferrari 365 GTB/4 'Daytona'

This fabulous left-hand-drive 365 GTB/4 ‘Daytona’, chassis 14069, was delivered new to the Italian Motor Ferrari concessionaire in late 1970. Its specification was, for want of a better phrase, to die for: understated Grigio Ferro coachwork over a striking Pelle Bianca interior. It was business on the outside and party on the in – the automotive equivalent of the 1980s mullet, if you will. As a desirable early European-specification car, it also originally bore the ‘Plexi’ covers over the headlights. 

Chassis 14069 received its Ferrari Bulletin de Garantie (numbered 4749) on 26 February 1971, when it was sold to its first owner, one Gabriella Nani Mocenigo from Venice, Italy. The ‘Daytona’ was registered in Italy on 6 April 1971, assigned with the registration ‘PD 283306’. Crucially, it still retains this registration today, along with the desirable original black Italian plates.

Mocenigo clearly cherished her Ferrari, as she kept it until 2004. And over the course of her 33-year ownership, she opted to upgrade the car to the later pop-up headlight specification, in line with Ferrari’s model evolution. Pop-up headlights were, after all, a must-have accessory for your car in the 1980s, much like brick phones and Filofaxes. This also included the addition of headrests to the gorgeous bucket seats and a black leather-rimmed steering wheel.

Chassis 14069 returned to its birthplace, Maranello, in 2004 when it passed through the workshop of Toni Silvano. During its time quite literally round the corner from the factory, the ‘Daytona’ was repainted in red. In January of 2006, the car was sold to its second private owner, who’s kept it ever since.

The ‘Daytona’ is undoubtedly one of the all-time great Ferraris, and chassis 14069 is a fantastic chance for somebody to enjoy the plethora of talents it has to offer. As a classic car ownership proposition, a front-engined V12 Ferrari must surely be on the list of every true petrolhead. And chassis 14069 ticks all the boxes, whether its next owner decides to return the car to its original specification or simply cherish and enjoy it as its mere two previous owners have done so admirably.  

Price: €495,000 (EUR)