1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 'Daytona' Berlinetta
Coachwork by Pininfarina/Scaglietti
Chassis no. 15111
Engine no. B1548

"It's a hard muscled thoroughbred, the Daytona - easily the most awesome and yet disciplined road-going Ferrari in that firm's brilliant quarter century of existence. The Daytona isn't fast – it's blinding. It will eat up a quarter-mile of asphalt in 13.2 seconds at 110mph and scream out to 175mph - or it will slug through traffic at 1,500rpm with the Sunday manners of a FIAT. It is the perfect extension of its driver. You can cut and weave through shuffling traffic with the agility of a halfback, or lope down the freeway with the piece of mind that comes from knowing you can contend with anyone's incompetence. To say, after you've driven it, that the Daytona is desirable doesn't begin to sum up your feelings - you would sell your soul for it." - Car & Driver, January 1970.

Every Ferrari is, to a greater or lesser extent, a 'landmark' car, but few of Maranello's road models have captured the imagination of Ferraristi like the 365 GTB/4. The ultimate expression of Ferrari's fabulous line of V12 front-engined sports cars, the 365 GTB/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. One of Pininfarina's countless masterpieces, the influential shark-nosed body style featured an unusual 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 275 GTB. Unlike the contemporary 365 GTC/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.

At the time of its introduction in 1968 the Daytona was the most expensive production Ferrari ever and, with a top speed in excess of 170mph, was also the world's fastest production car. Deliveries commenced in the second half of 1969 and the Daytona would be manufactured for just four years; not until the arrival of the 456 GT in 1992 would Ferrari build anything like it again. Only 1,300 Berlinetta models and 121 Spyder convertibles had been made when production ceased in 1973.

Sent to Scaglietti on 7th December 1971 and completed on 2nd March 1972, chassis number '15111' was delivered new to official dealer Renato Nocentini's Garage La Rotonda in Prato, Italy. The Daytona left the factory finished in Marrone Metallizzato with beige Connolly leather interior, and was equipped with a Voxson radio. Later that same month Nocentini sold the Ferrari to its first owner, Professor Carlo Massimo, a prominent surgeon residing in Fiesole, Italy. The car was registered in Florence. In July 1974 Professor Massimo traded '15111' with Nocentini against the purchase of a new Ferrari 365 GT4 BB.

In the 1990s '15111' was sold to Switzerland and repainted red. The current vendor purchased the Ferrari from Bruno Wyss Sportgarage in 1998 (invoice on file). The previous owner was Kestrel SA of Neuchâtel. The Daytona is offered with a Swiss Carte Grise, Massini Report, tool kit, car cover and sundry invoices, the most recent (for CHF12,000) covering a service of the brakes and fitting new rear tyres.

Please note the following: VAT will be payable on the hammer price and buyer's premium at the standard rate if the car remains in Switzerland.