Rightly regarded by many enthusiasts and owners as Ferrari’s ultimate V-12 berlinetta, the 365 GTB/4 is an instantly recognizable icon today. Debuted at Paris in 1968, the new model was unofficially named Daytona in celebration of Ferrari’s electrifying 1-2-3 podium sweep scored against Ford’s GT40 armada in 1967. The new Ferrari’s nickname was certainly warranted, given the performance delivered by its DOHC 4.4L V-12 engine breathing through a sextet of twin-choke Weber carburetors and delivering 352 HP. While many questioned Ferrari’s claimed 174 MPH top speed for the 365 GTB/4, it was confirmed by a succession of road tests, including the famous Road & Track photograph with the test car’s speedometer reading 180 MPH and corrected to 173 MPH.
While intended primarily for the road, the 365 GTB/4 enjoyed a highly successful front-line racing career with victories including the Tour de France and two class wins at Le Mans and Daytona. Of all its racing successes, though, the electrifying class victory/second overall scored by Tony Adamowicz and John Morton at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1979—over 10 years after the 365 GTB/4 was first introduced—likely stands as the Ferrari’s finest achievement.
The era’s wealthiest buyers clamored for a Daytona of their own. Le Mans-winning Ferrari driver and automotive journalist Paul Frère likely summed up the experience best. “If you go faster, it’s the engine that makes the music, the finest music of all to the ears of the enthusiast and the music he can enjoy in a well-sprung car, fitted with such amenities as electric window lifters, air conditioning and a really capacious luggage locker—a Grand Touring car par excellence.”
In addition to 1,383 examples of the handsome 365 GTB/4 Daytona berlinetta, a limited run of 122 convertible “spiders” were produced, including this Ferrari Classiche-certified example. Bearing S/N 14403, it is documented as the ninth 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spyder constructed. A U.S. version equipped with instruments calibrated in miles, power windows and a black soft top, S/N 14403 was completed in July 1971, delivered to Luigi Chinetti Motors in Greenwich, Connecticut, and sold via Donald W. Fong in Atlanta, Georgia, to first owner Halsey A. Frederick of Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.
The car eventually passed down to Frederick’s son, A.J., remaining in the ownership of the Frederick family for nearly 30 years until March 1990, when it was acquired by Californian entrepreneur Dr. William Mow, then chairman and CEO of Bugle Boy Jeans. Between 1994 and 1995, S/N 14403 was restored by Franco’s European Sports Cars Inc. in Los Angeles, with the $140,000 restoration including a refinish in red with black upholstery.
In March 1998, the Ferrari was sold by Mow and passed through several marque-specialist dealers and collectors in that year’s firming collector-car market to Wayne and Marilyn Nelson, who acquired S/N 14403 in October 1998. In January 2000, the Nelsons displayed S/N 14403 at the world’s largest Ferrari concours, the Cavallino Classic in Palm Beach, Florida, where it earned the coveted Platinum award in its class—an honor repeated there in 2002 and 2003.
The highly valuable Daytona was acquired in 2008 by Barry Snyder, who showed it at the 2008 FCA Annual Meeting, where yet another Platinum award was received. In January 2009, Ferrari Classiche certified S/N 14003 and issued its Red Book, documenting and confirming the spider’s chassis, engine and transaxle to be original and matching.
In the early 2010s, the spider was sold to an owner in England and registered there before acquisition in 2013 by a new owner in Portugal, who had the Ferrari returned to its original Giallo Fly (Fly Yellow) color at Autofficinia Cremonini, located near Modena, Italy, at a cost of €76,860. The vehicle received its Factory Certificate of Authenticity from the Ferrari Factory in 2015. In December 2018, this car was comprehensively serviced by the official Ferrari service center Ferrari Portugal, with 28,131 miles noted and the invoice totaling €4,708.87. In 2020, the spider was exported back to the United States.
As now offered, this four-time FCA Platinum award winner represents the pinnacle of Ferrari’s classical V-12 heritage with its exclusivity, electrifying performance and, of course, its stunning, Scaglietti-built open coachwork. Retaining its original, matching-numbers 4390cc DOHC Tipo 251 V-12 engine that delivers an unbridled 352 HP with six Weber 40 DCN21 A twin-choke carburetors and Magneti Marelli AEC 103 electronic ignition, S/N 14403 also retains its original 5-speed manual gearbox/rear transaxle, the original suspension and Koni shock absorbers, and its original 4-wheel disc brakes. Other highlights include power windows and a black soft top as built. Iconic Borrani chrome wire wheels and radial tires finish it off handsomely. Documents include a Marcel Massini history report and Ferrari Classiche certification, including the all-important Red Book confirming the Daytona spider’s correctness and originality, including its matching-numbers mechanical features.
Mecum’s Monterey Auction will take place August 15-17. For more information, be sure to visit Mecum.com.
