AN UNREPEATABLE DAYTONA

Over fifty years since the introduction of Ferrari’s iconic 365 GTB/4 Daytona Berlinetta, true survivors are becoming few and far between. As the fastest road car in the world upon its unveiling, numerous Daytonas were driven just as Enzo intended. Following that use and the passage of time, repaints, retrims, and restorations were necessary. Some cars suffered damage over the years, and some no longer exist as a result. As such, finding a well-preserved, highly original Daytona can be easier said than done.

Few Daytonas can lay claim to being owned by just two owners from new. Far fewer can lay claim to having the leftmost number (representing 10,000 miles and more) of the odometer yet to roll over.  Only one Daytona can lay claim to all of the above, with its first owner being a key figure in bringing the very first Ferrari to the United States. 

TOMMY LEE AND WILLET H. BROWN—FERRARI’S EARLIEST DAYS IN THE UNITED STATES

Before discussing Tommy Lee, it is his father, Don Lee, who warrants a brief introduction. Born in Lansing, Michigan, Don built his fortune by selling Cadillacs, becoming Cadillac’s exclusive West Coast distributor. Later branching out into broadcasting—even relocating a radio station to the top floor of his Cadillac dealership in San Francisco—Don built up an empire of radio stations across California, which would eventually lead into to television. Mount Lee, the peak in Los Angeles atop which the iconic Hollywood sign sits, is named for Don Lee, as he bought the site to install a television transmitter and widen his transmission range.

Inheriting his father’s fortune upon his passing in 1934, at just 28 years old, Tommy Lee grew up surrounded by Southern California’s burgeoning car culture and the excess of Hollywood. It should be no surprise that while he continued to grow his late father’s businesses, he owned some truly fabulous cars. These included a Mercedes-Benz W154, several Alfa Romeo 8Cs, and no less than four Talbot-Lagos. Many of these cars were sourced from Europe by none other than Luigi Chinetti. To Chinetti, Lee must have been a natural fit to become Ferrari’s first client in the United States.

Tommy Lee was eventually injured in a car crash, and as a result, his close friend and business manager, Willet H. Brown, was appointed to oversee guardianship of his business interests. Brown shared Lee’s interest in cars, his own father having run a Cadillac dealership in Beverly Hills under Don Lee and held the same position of business manager in the Lee organization. As such, it was Brown who would coordinate various car purchases with Chinetti, including his acquisition of the Ferrari 166 MM chassis no. 0002M, the first Ferrari to be purchased by an American customer and sold to the US.

Following Tommy Lee’s death in January of 1950, shares of both the Don Lee Broadcasting System and ownership of some of his cars, including the 166 MM, were transferred to Brown. Over time, Brown’s collection grew to be regarded as one of the finest collections of cars in Los Angeles at the time, with his cars often on display at Hillcrest Motors in Beverly Hills, the iconic Cadillac dealership started there by his father. 

Considering Brown’s involvement in Ferrari’s earliest days in the United States, it comes as no surprise that the brand would be near and dear to his heart throughout the remainder of his life, and that the 365 GTB/4 Daytona would catch his eye. Sleek, alluring, and faster than anything else on the road, this was a car that would stand proud in any collection. 

CHASSIS NO. 14123—TWO OWNERS, TWO THOUSAND MILES

Brown’s Daytona started life just as you see it today, finished in Rosso Chiaro (20-R-190) over a Nero (VM 8500) interior with red seat centers. Completed by Ferrari in February 1971, the car was shipped to Brown Modern Classic Motors, Bill Harrah’s Ferrari distributorship for the US West Coast, based in Reno, Nevada. Previous California registrations on file show that the car was leased to Brown via the Laurie Leasing Corporation of Beverly Hills, and a Statement of Facts to the California Department of Motor Vehicles also on file shows that the leasing company took possession of the car for Brown in May of 1972. Handwritten notes on these registration cards confirm Brown as the owner, and the car remained in his car collection for the rest of his life, always residing in California. 

Willet Brown passed away on 14 October 1993. His collection remained together for the following two years, looked after by James Duffy III, a former Hillcrest Motors employee, and manager of the collection who was employed by Hillcrest at the time of the Daytona’s purchase. Chassis no. 14123 was acquired by the current owner at a Sotheby’s sale of Brown’s collection in 1995, where it became part of one of the greatest private collections of automobiles in the United States. At the time of purchase, according to Sotheby’s auction catalogue, the car had been driven just 1,658 miles from new. In an article by the Los Angeles Times at the time of the auction, Duffy was quoted as saying that the Daytona was one of his favorite sports cars in the collection, fondly remembering a drive to Carmel alongside Brown in the car. 

The Daytona has remained largely behind closed doors with its current owner in an effort to preserve its incredible level of originality. At the time of cataloguing, the car shows just 2,000 miles from new, and is undoubtedly one of the best preserved, lowest-mileage Daytonas in existence. 

With an ownership history as fascinating as its level of preservation, chassis no. 14123 is undoubtedly one of the most interesting Daytonas to come to market in recent memory. It has stood proud in two significant collections for its entire life and would surely continue to do so wherever it may go with its third owner.