The Ferrari 365 GTB/4 acquired its unofficial Daytona name after the model swept the top three places at the 1967 race of the same name. Ferrari was reportedly quite put-out when the Daytona name leaked out during testing, and it was never officially applied to the model. In any case, the Daytona proved its namesake point 12 years later when a 1973 model finished 2nd at Daytona in 1979, driven by John Morton and Tony Adamowitz, capping an extraordinary competition career.

Introduced at the 1968 Paris Salon, the Daytona had a tube steel frame, and the body featured a horizontal body side crease below the level of the wheel wells. Early models had full-width plastic headlight covers, but U.S. regulations rejected covered lights, and the solution was the elegant pop-up lights, which were fitted to all the cars from 1970 onwards. The Kamm tail contained two taillights on each side, and aluminum was used for the doors, hood, and trunk lid. The Cromodora five-spoke wheels were standard and similar to wheels used on Formula One cars at the time.

The price of the 365 GTB/4 rose from $19,500 to $23,940 through the model’s five-year production run, while one of the 121 spyders would set you back about $2,000 more. But the Daytona’s mechanical specifications delivered on its claim to be the fastest production sports car in the world, with a top speed of 174 mph. The four-cam Colombo V-12 engine displaced 4.3-liters and generated 352 horsepower.

One of the first endorsements came from Le Mans winner for Ferrari and lifetime auto journalist Paul Frere. He reported 176 mph in Autostrada traffic in 1969 and observed that the radio was useless above 120 mph. Still, as he said, “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.”

Competition Daytonas won the Tour de France in 1972, their class at Le Mans in 1973 and 1974, and their class at Daytona in 1973 and 1975. The 1973 Le Mans class-winning Charles Pozzi entry, driven by Vic Elford and Claude Ballot-Lena, was driven back to Paris following the race—proving the Daytona’s remarkable reliability.

The car offered here is an original European-specification Daytona, originally finished in Argento Metallizzato, and it was reportedly purchased new by Peter McKenzie-Sanders, of Willowdale, Ontario, Canada, from Motor S.p.A. in Bologna, Italy. McKenzie-Sanders displayed the car at the 16th and 19th annual meets of the Ferrari Club of America and retained ownership for 13 years before passing the Ferrari to James Villa, of Rochester, New York. Several years later, it was sold to Connecticut banker J. Arthur Urciuoli, who adapted the car for vintage racing in 1992 and had a complete mechanical rebuild commissioned by World Wide Cars, totaling over $87,000. Urciuoli obviously had tremendous fun with it, exercising the car at the Mid-Ohio Vintage Races in 1993, as pictured in issue number 77 of Cavallino magazine.

The Daytona has since resided on the East Coast, along the way being refinished in classic Rosso Corsa over tan leather upholstery. In March of 2012, the cabin’s upholstery was completely freshened and fitted with a new, correct mouse hair dashboard by Coachtrim of Danbury. Michelin XWX tires were mounted on proper 15x7.5 inch Borrani wire wheels, and a recent full service and underside detailing was performed by a well-known East Coast marque specialist.

The driving experience of this particular 365 GTB/4 is truly top-notch, with beautiful carburetion responsive to throttle input and cool operating temps under load. The brake and clutch operation is fluid, and the transaxle has wonderful synchros, both warm and cold. The experienced Ferrari driver will be hard pressed to contain his/her enjoyment behind the wheel, as this car has a wonderfully concise, coherent feeling on the road and is presently offered out of the sunny Southwest. Daytonas are becoming scarce, as owners are reluctant to part with their cars. Here is a great opportunity to acquire a correct and desirable example.