The Ferrari 365 GTS/4 ‘Daytona’ Spider

At the 1969 Frankfurt Motor Show, the world finally got to see the latest Ferrari Spider: the 365 GTS/4. Both the public and motoring press loved the car, as it utilised the 365 GTB4’s performance and mechanical features, whilst also allowed the driver and passenger to experience that true “wind in your hair” feeling!

The engine up front was the same V12 unit used in the berlinetta, with a displacement of 4.4 litres to produce a generous 352 bhp at 7,500 rpm. Power was delivered through a shaft in a torque tube to the rear-mounted transaxle, which subsequently spun the 215/70 VR 15 rear tyres after a healthy stab of the throttle by the driver.

A ‘Daytona’ Spider was a special proposition from day one. Of the 1,406 Ferrari ‘Daytonas’ produced, only a mere 121 were built as 365 GTS Spiders by Ferrari — the ultimate Prancing Horse status symbol of the time!

The Ferrari ‘Daytona’ gained international fame thanks to Dan Gurney and Brock Yates, who won the inaugural Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, a race from New York to LA that covered 2,876 miles, in which the pair averaged over 80 mph! The ‘Daytona’ Spider found additional fame courtesy of this event, as it inspired the film The Gumball Run, in which a ‘Daytona’ Spider stars!

This ‘Daytona’ Spider

The 365 GTS/4 ‘Daytona’ Spider offered here, chassis 14403, was built by Ferrari in early 1971 and completed manufacture in July. The following month, the car was delivered to Luigi Chinetti Motors Inc in New York USA and was later sold to its first owner, Mr Halsey A. Frederick, a resident of Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, USA.

The car eventually passed down to Halsey’s son, A.J., and remained in the ownership of the Frederick family for nearly 30 years, until March 1990. The new owner, Dr William Mow, was a Chinese entrepreneur and the chairman and CEO of Bugle Boy Jeans, who resided in California, USA. Between 1994 and 1995, this car was fully restored by Franco’s European Sports Cars Inc in Los Angeles, California. At this point, the car was refinished in red with a black interior, with the full restoration costing $140,000.

In late 1998, this car was bought by Wayne & Marilyn Nelson, true Ferrari collectors who also owned a 1957 Ferrari 410 Superamerica Cabriolet and a 410 Superamerica Series II Coupé. January 2000 saw Wayne & Marilyn show the car at the world’s largest Ferrari concours, the Cavallino Classic in Palm Beach, Florida, where it was earned a Platinum Award in its class.

In both 2002 and 2003, Wayne and Marilyn again displayed this car at the Cavallino Classic, and again, it won a Platinum Award each year in its respective class. For a car to be awarded Platinum is very special, as it confirms the car has been inspected by some of the world’s leading judges who have decades of specialist experience in the Ferrari world, and it was found to be correct in terms of originality and authenticity. This ‘Daytona’ Spider continued to attend the world’s leading Ferrari concours, including the 2005 Ferrari Club of America meeting in Indianapolis, where the car was awarded Gold in class.

The year 2008 saw another concours appearance, but this time with new owner Berry Snyder at the Ferrari Club of America Annual meeting, where yet another Platinum Award was received. In January 2009, Ferrari Classiche awarded this car its “Red Book” Classiche certification, confirming the chassis, engine and transaxle to be original and matching.

In 2013, this ‘Daytona’ Spider was purchased by its current European owner, who returned the car to its home continent before sending it for a bare-metal respray by the experts at Autofficina Cremonini in Modena, Italy, at a cost of €76,860. Most recently, in December 2018, this car was fully serviced by official Ferrari service centre Ferrari Portugal, with the mileage noted as 28,131 and the invoice totalling €4,708.87.

Today, this fully matching-numbers, Ferrari Classiche certified and Ferrari serviced 365 GTS/4 ‘Daytona’ Spider is presented in its original striking colour combination of Giallo Fly with a Nero interior and displays less than 29,000 miles! With only 121 genuine Ferrari 365 GTS/4s produced, now is your opportunity to own one of the very best!

Price Upon Application