The 365 GTB/4 that debuted at the Paris Motor Show in the fall of 1968 marked a great departure from the 275 GTB that preceded it. With its long hood and hidden headlights covered initially by Perspex and later reworked as retractable units to satisfy U.S. federal requirements, the GTB/4 became the quintessential Italian long-distance grand-touring car design. Underneath, it utilized a welded tubular steel frame, an independent suspension, and a new version of the V-12 complete with four chain-driven camshafts and six downdraft Weber carburetors. At 352 hp, the 365 GTB/4 boasted two more horses than the Miura, a point hardly lost on engineers in Sant’Agata.

The motoring press dubbed the supercar Daytona, a nickname that stuck with engineers and designers but not marketers in Maranello; Ferrari rarely refers to the car as anything other than the 365 GTB/4. The Scaglietti-bodied 365 GTB/4 Daytona went into production in 1969 and spawned a convertible spider the next year at the Frankfurt salon.

This 1971 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Berlinetta was completed by Ferrari on 2 December 1971, and according to marque historian Marcel Massini, it was finished in Bianco Polo (20-W-152) over a Nero (VM 8500) leather interior to U.S. specifications, with left-hand drive and fitted with air-conditioning. Later that month it was shipped to the United States and delivered to Bill Harrah’s Ferrari distributorship, Modern Classic Motors, in Reno, Nevada.

On 19 April 1972, the car was sold new to its first private owner, Gary MacLeod of Medina, Washington. Following its departure from MacLeod’s ownership, it resided with a noted Ferrari collector who was based in North Carolina. During this time the car was repainted from white to silver metallic gray. By 1996 the car was owned by William S. Ferguson of Albuquerque, New Mexico, who had the car painted its current shade of red. The car passed from Ferguson to Earl Whittemore of Los Lunas, New Mexico, in November 1999, subsequently becoming a part of two prominent collections, first in Texas, then in Ohio. The current ownership purchased the car in 2016, over which time the car has covered roughly 2,000 miles.

The mid-’90s repaint has held up very nicely. The interior is completed in a rich black leather; it features power windows, air-conditioning, Veglia Borletti instrumentation, and a Becker Mexico AM/FM radio with cassette. The Daytona’s black leather interior remains in beautiful condition. The car currently rides on Borrani knockoff wire wheels fitted with Michelin XWX radial tires. Additional exterior features include a driver side-view mirror, power antenna, and ANSA exhaust tips. Under current ownership the car has received a full A/C service. The Ferrari is accompanied by its tool roll, as well as a set of owner’s manuals in their leather pouch and select service records going back to the mid-1970s.

Arguably one of the most iconic road-going Ferraris, the Daytona remains a staple that should be a part of any prominent collection.