Footnotes

• The ultimate expression of Ferrari's fabulous line of V12 front-engined sports cars, the 365GTB/4 debuted at the Paris Salon in 1968, soon gaining the unofficial name 'Daytona' in honour of the sweeping 1, 2, 3 finish by the Ferrari 330P4 at that circuit in 1967. Pininfarina's Leonardo Fioravanti, later the famed carrozzeria's director of research and development, was responsible for the influential shark-nosed styling, creating a package that restated the traditional 'long bonnet, small cabin, short tail' look in a manner suggesting muscular horsepower while retaining all the elegance associated with the Italian coachbuilder's work for Maranello. An unusual feature was a full-width transparent panel covering the headlamps, though this was replaced by electrically-operated pop-up lights to meet US requirements soon after the start of production in the second half of 1969. Fioravanti later revealed that the Daytona was his favourite among the many Ferraris he designed.
  Although the prototype had been styled and built by Pininfarina in Turin, manufacture of the production version was entrusted to Ferrari's subsidiary Scaglietti, in Modena. The Daytona's all-alloy, four-cam, V12 engine displaced 4,390cc and produced its maximum output of 352bhp at 7,500rpm, with 318lb/ft of torque available at 5,500 revs. Dry-sump lubrication enabled it to be installed low in the oval-tube chassis, while shifting the gearbox to the rear in the form of a five-speed transaxle meant 50/50 weight distribution could be achieved. The all-independent wishbone and coil-spring suspension was a recent development, having originated in the preceding 275GTB. Unlike the contemporary 365GTC/4, the Daytona was not available with power steering, a feature then deemed inappropriate for a 'real' sports car. There was, however, servo assistance for the four-wheel ventilated disc brakes. Air conditioning was optional, but elsewhere the Daytona remained uncompromisingly focussed on delivering nothing less than superlative high performance.
  Although there had been no official open-top version of its predecessor, the favourable reception of Luigi Chinetti's 275GTB-based NART Spyder no doubt influenced Ferrari's decision to produce a convertible Daytona. Again the work of Pininfarina, the latter was first seen at the Paris Salon in 1969, deliveries commencing in 1971. Although the rear end had been extensively reworked, so successful was Pininfarina's surgery that it was hard to credit that the Daytona had not initially been conceived as a spyder.
  The most powerful two-seater, road-going GT and the world's fastest production car at the time of its launch, the Daytona was capable of over 170mph and is surely destined to remain a front-ranking supercar for the foreseeable future. Only 1,300 Berlinetta models and 121 Spyder convertibles had been made when production ceased in 1973.
  One of only 25 Daytona Spyders built for the European market, left-hand drive chassis number '14605' was completed by the factory in October 1971 and delivered finished in Blu Dino with silver side stripes and beige leather interior. Original factory-fitted equipment included a Becker Olympia radio and instruments in kilometres. On 10th May 1972 the car was sold via Luigi Chinetti Motors to a Mr Scafula, resident in France, and delivered on Italian customs plates to Switzerland where it was registered in Geneva. '14605' returned to Modena for servicing on three occasions over the next couple of years, the last being in August 1974 (at 33,500 kilometres).
  In 1976 Luigi Chinetti Motors imported the Daytona from Geneva to the USA, where its first owner was Adrian Butach of Weston, Connecticut. Subsequently the Ferrari was repainted in red and the engine changed. At around this time the car was possibly owned by model and actress, Marisa Berenson. Its next owner (in 1979) was Douglas A Weinberg of Phoenix, Arizona, while at sometime during the 1980s the Daytona passed into the ownership of collector Virgil Millett Jr of New York. At this time the odometer reading stood at 5,800 miles, indicating a change of instrument.
  On 17th June 2000 the Millett Collection was auctioned at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles where the Ferrari was bought by the current vendor and imported to the UK. Since arriving in this country the Ferrari has been restored by marque specialists Moto Technique of West Molesey, Surrey. Works carried out include a 'bare metal' re-spray and full interior re-trim in black leather (bills on file). Reading 11,300 at time of purchase in 2000, the odometer total currently stands at circa 14,000. Described as in generally excellent condition, the car comes complete with tool roll and is offered with the aforementioned restoration invoices, MoT to January 2012 and Swansea V5 registration document. Only infrequently offered for sale, Ferrari Daytona Spyders are extremely rare, and even more so in European specification, making this pristine example particularly collectible.
  

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Category: Motoring / Motor Cars

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