The Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona was a benchmark of sports car engineering and design, holding a singular cachet amongst the marque’s vintage front-engine V-12 berlinettas. Ferrari announced the model in 1968, paving the way for the Maranello’s first 4.3-liter dual-overhead-cam engine in a road car. That the model was nicknamed “Daytona” in honor of the company’s dominating 1-2-3 podium sweep at the 1967 24 Hours of Daytona has become a point of legend, even if the name was not officially sanctioned by Enzo Ferrari.

Clothed in Leonardo Fioravanti’s revolutionary shark-nose coachwork, the 365 GTB/4 was actually a stopgap effort that surprised everyone with its sheer success while a forthcoming rear-engine flat-12 model remained in development. It would be the last of Ferrari’s great front-engine grand touring machines for over 20 years, an exclamatory statement of power and style that capped a now-legendary tradition.

With a staggering output of 352 horsepower and a top speed of 174 mph, the 365 GTB/4 dethroned the Lamborghini Miura as the world’s fastest production car. Utilizing dry-sump lubrication that enabled a lower placement of the engine, a five-speed transaxle that provided ideal 50/50 weight distribution, and all-wheel independent suspension, the Daytona offered crisp handling characteristics at speed. Wide wheels with superior tire contact and four-wheel disc brakes rounded out a superb all-around package that eventually proved worthy of competition applications.

Early Daytona examples proved to be the purest expression of the model’s original Pininfarina design, with wooden steering wheels and Plexiglass noses that were eventually phased out for regulatory reasons. These cars are now particularly desirable for their rarity and exceptional details. As the final front-engine Ferrari to feature a derivation of Gioacchino Colombo’s classic short-block V-12, the Daytona was the ultimate evolution of 20 years of development, constituting the triumphant conclusion of a generation of vintage Ferraris.

This crisply presented Ferrari Daytona claims period history as a dealer show car, and benefits from a modest chain of fastidious ownership, as well as rare early design features. According to the research of marque expert Marcel Massini, chassis number 12923 is approximately the 82nd car built, and therefore was equipped with the rare Plexiglass nose fitted only to early examples.

Completed as a left-hand-drive example specified for the European market, the Ferrari was finished in Bianco Polo Park paint over an interior of Rosso Scuro vaumol leather, ultimately finishing assembly in September 1969. A month later the 365 GTB/4 was delivered to George Woolley, an official marque dealer in Canada who presented the berlinetta at the Canadian Automobile Show in Montreal.

Sold to its first private owner by the end of the year, the Ferrari was later repainted in Nero, establishing the seductive black-on-black color scheme the car continues to wear today. Eventually passing into the purview of Ronald Selig of Montreal, the berlinetta was offered for sale in 1986, after which it was purchased by an enthusiast in British Colombia. By the early 1990s the 365 was acquired by a Swedish collector who then sold the car in 1993 to Lyle Tanner, a well-known marque specialist based in Los Angeles. The car was later sold to an owner in Japan.

By 1997 the Ferrari was acquired by Bruce Haley of Roslyn, New York, and he in turn sold the car to an Oregon-based enthusiast. A few years later the 365 GTB/4 passed to a collector in Minnesota, who sold the berlinetta to Mr. Adderley in January 2015. Currently displaying 55,954 miles, this distinctive Daytona continues to present well in the double Nero livery with wire wheels. Notably, this Ferrari retains its numbers-matching engine and gearbox, per the accompanying Massini Report. In addition to being specified with the factory-standard power windows, the Ferrari is desirably equipped with air conditioning, making the car an ideal candidate for enjoyment during touring events.

This rare 365 GTB/4 is a particularly pure example of the model’s original design, being one of the early cars built with the elegant Plexiglass nose. Sure to delight Daytona connoisseurs and marque enthusiasts of all stripes, this handsome Ferrari would make a striking addition to any sporting collection.