1970 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 'Daytona' Berlinetta
Coachwork by Carrozzeria Pininfarina/Scaglietti
Registration no. VDA 131H
Chassis no. 13435

'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.

One of only 158 Daytonas manufactured in right-hand drive configuration, chassis number '13435' was delivered new to Colonel Ronnie Hoare's Maranello Concessionaires, the official UK Ferrari importer, and first registered in August 1970. Somewhat surprisingly, its first owner was the British School of Motoring, which had chosen the Daytona for use on its High Performance Course. The Ferrari was registered to a Miss Denise McCann at the BSM's Sydney Street address.

Interviewed for an article in Octane magazine, HPC instructor John Lyon described the Daytona as 'the daddy of the cars on the HPC... with its high polar movement and excellent traction it was the perfect road-vehicle... I often achieved its maximum speed of 174mph on the motorways of Holland and Germany'.

In December 1972, Maranello Concessionaires sold the Ferrari to Mr John Lloyd of Hyde Park Gate, London SW7. Mr Lloyd's ownership generated a considerable amount of invoices and correspondence between him and Maranello Concessionaires. He clearly found the experience a bit of a trial, but by the time '13435' was sold the next owner in 1974, it was said to be performing 'extremely well'. Its purchaser was Mr William M French of New South Wales, Australia, who would keep the Ferrari as part of his private collection for the next 39 years.

Repatriated to the UK in 2013, the Daytona was sold to marque specialist, Joe Macari, who serviced the car and obtained Ferrari Classiche certification for it in 2013, confirming that '13435' retains its original engine and gearbox. The history file contains paperwork detailing the original order; specification and build details; purchase invoices; and records of service work carried out during BSM's ownership. MoT'd and offered with a V5C registration document, '13435' represents a wonderful opportunity to own a rare original right-hand drive example of the defining sports car of its generation.