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.

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.

With a top speed in excess of 170mph, the Daytona was the world’s fastest production car in its day, and surely is destined to occupy the front rank of high-performance sports cars for the foreseeable future. A mere 1,300 Berlinetta models and 123 Spyder convertibles had been made when Daytona production ceased in 1973.

The example we offer here - chassis number ‘16189’ – belonged from the early 1980s until 1993 to Mr Widmer from Neftenbach, near Winterthur, who was well known as a bodywork specialist and restorer of older Ferraris. Mr Widmer’s personal car, ‘16819’ was restored by him from the ground upwards in the early 1990s, to a standard that even surpassed that of his clients’ cars. In 1993 the engine was overhauled at 85,000 kilometres by Ferrari specialist, Edi Wyss (the current odometer reading is 124,000 kilometres) and the current owner purchased the car from Mr Widmer at around this time. Finished in classic rosso corsa with all original black leather interior, this lovely Daytona comes with its original tool kit and is offered with Swiss Carte Grise.