You know how they say “it’s only original once”? Well, the Pick of the Day fits that description as an original, unrestored 1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4, otherwise known as a Daytona, one of the most fabled cars in automotive history.
According to the advertisement for the car on ClassicCars.com, the Ferrari — chassis No. 14831 — was purchased by the current owner on November 21, 1984, at Foreign Cars Italia Inc. in North Carolina. That means the car has been in single ownership for approaching 33 years.
Original wheels come with the carThe owner/seller notes that the car is in original/unrestored condition, is powered by its original engine — Ferrari’s 4.4-liter, six-carb, 352-horsepower V12 — and that the engine’s power flows to the rear axle through a five-speed manual transmission.
While the car rides on Borrani wire wheels, the original factory set comes with the car, as does the full tool kit, original factory manual and all sorts of maintenance documentation.
The seller also notes that the car is one of only 1,284 produced.
Ferrari’s Daytona model traces its lineage to the 1967 Paris auto show and an unenthusiastic reaction to the unveiling of the then-new Ferrari 275 GTB/4. Although a “new” model — the initials stood for Gran Turismo Berlinetta and the 4 signified the four-cam engine architecture — the 275 was really a carryover chassis, albeit one that for the first time took the company’s V12 engine from the race track to the road.
But rather than being overwhelmed by the new Ferrari, the world’s automotive press corps focused instead on a truly new and revolutionary car on the Lamborghini stand, the mid-engine Miura, considered to be the first modern supercar.
Leonardo Fioravanti was a young designer at Pininfarina who had styled the Dino 206 GT for Ferrari. Working largely on his own in the evenings, he penned the shape and details of the 365 GTB/4, which was unveiled at Paris a year later. The car would forever become known as the Daytona after posting a 1-2-3 finish and beating Ford and Porsche in the 24-hour race at the Florida track.
“A poem in steel” was one reporter’s description of Fioravanti’s design.
As it turned out, that poem was faster on the road than Lamborghini’s heralded Miura, sprinting to 60 mph in less than six seconds and reaching a top speed of 175 mph.
Not only is the car original, but its odometer shows only 23,878 miles.
The advertisement notes the leather interior, air conditioning, power brakes and windows, and that the car is in running condition.
The car is located in Fort Myers, Florida. The asking price is $795,000 (or best offer). That may sound like quite a bit, but consider that at auction last year, ’72 Daytona coupes sold from $600,000 to as much as $1.155 million.
To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.
