Ferrari’s Daytona Spider is a car of monumental importance, not only to the company itself but also to the sports car industry as a whole. At a time when manufacturers were producing even the most exclusive motor cars into the thousands, the Daytona Spider had a limited run of only 121 examples, with each being adorned with a now legendary moniker, much like the “Mille Miglia” and “Tour de France” models that preceded it. Daytona, after all, was a glorious reference to the marque’s legendary 1-2-3 finish at the 1967 24-hour race, where it embodied the final iteration of a classic Ferrari formula: a high-revving, high performance V-12 engine located in front, with blistering acceleration, top speed, and spine-shivering noise. This occurred all at a time when the shift was towards mid-engined supercars. Performance was incredible, with a 0–60 mph time of only 5.4 seconds and a top speed of 174 mph, making it not only faster than the Lamborghini Miura but also the fastest production car in the world at the time of its unveiling in 1968.

The Daytona Spider was unveiled to the public for the first time in September 1969 at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Whereas Ferrari would produce over 1,400 Coupés, Spider production amounted to less than 10% of that number, making it a status and performance symbol around the world, from the Cote d’Azur to Beverly Hills.

Chassis 17013 is utterly breath-taking, not only for its presentation but also for its unrepeatable rarity. It was finished from new in Marrone Colorado (106-M-73) over a Beige Scuro (VM 846) interior in Connolly leather. Not only was it one of five Daytona Spiders ordered in this colour, but it’s also the only one to have this exterior/interior colour combination, and it’s almost certainly the only one of those cars to have survived in such extraordinary condition. When one considers that Ferrari offered 15 total colours for the Daytona Spider and that about half of them were delivered new in some shade of yellow or red, 17013 is immediately segregated into a class all its own.

This car was the 105th of 121 examples produced, sporting both air conditioning and a radio, which were both very desirable features. It was delivered new through Chinetti-Garthwaite in Paoli, Pennsylvania, to Bake Motor Company in Atlanta, Georgia.

It was sold new by Baker Motor Company to its first private owner, Robert L. Rinzler of Atlanta, Georgia, on 18 April 1974. Over the course of the next decade, the car never left Atlanta and was owned by two subsequent owners after Rinzler, with the first being Thomas Blakeley and the second Quinton A. Dobbs, who was Rinzler’s son-in-law.

Ownership history thereafter is very well known and includes prominent Texas collector Jerry J. Moore. Mr. Moore kept the car from 1986 until 1990, at which time the odometer was documented as showing 2,701 miles and a copy of the odometer disclosure statement from his ownership is included with the file. Afterwards, the car was sold to Axel Wars, of Coronado, California, and he retained it until 1995, at which time it was acquired by prominent Colorado-based car collector and Ferrari enthusiast Roger Willbanks. By the time Mr Willbanks sold the car in 1999, it had only registered 2,780 miles and was, of course, in exceptional condition. Chassis 17013 remained in the Northeast for the next few years, before a quick spell in Europe, and then it returned to California in 2005, being advertised with 2,889 miles on its odometer. In 2009, the car received the coveted Ferrari Classiche certification, which confirmed that it retained all of its original components, including the chassis, engine, and transaxle. In June 2012, the car was based in North Carolina, where it was noted as showing 3,227 miles and was still in all original condition.

Furthermore, the paint was recently inspected by world-renowned automotive painter Junior Conway, of Junior’s House of Color, who painted many cars for celebrities, such as Steve McQueen. Conway was confident that a vast majority of the paint is entirely original to the car and once again confirming its incredible level of originality. In addition, the interior is reported as being entirely original, as is the dash and the mechanical components on the car, which is further confirmed by its Ferrari Classiche certification.

To the uninitiated, the Daytona Spider has undeniable star quality and sex appeal. Perhaps it’s the Miami Vice pedigree, or the long, pointed bonnet that culminates in four roaring exhaust pipes, or the symphonic wail of a 4.4-litre V-12. But whether the appreciator is a dyed-in-the-world Ferrari enthusiast, novice motorist, or perhaps even a curious investor, chassis 17013 sparks immediate and undeniable attraction. Its model is exceptionally rare, as it is one of only one hundred twenty-one built, and its colour combination is not only unusual but even rarer still, being complemented by two of the only available factory options. Add to that almost impossibly low mileage and the time-warp cosmetic condition that only such low mileage can deliver. Finally, as the coup de grâce, the car has been blessed by the Ferrari factory with its all-important Classiche certification, which is an important piece of documentation that accompanies an already impressive cache of books, tools, luggage covers, and service paperwork. The car is also documented by copies of its dealer invoice from Chinetti Garthwaite Imports and an odometer disclosure statement from Jerry J. Moore’s ownership.

All told, then, this Ferrari Daytona Spider’s offering is so unusual and unrepeatable that it will almost certainly never happen again. Cars of such originality and low mileage can’t simply be acquired through a new car dealership, picked up directly at the factory, or restored to such condition. They are the equivalent of commissioning a one-off, bespoke hunting rifle and preserving it in light- and climate-controlled storage without so much as ever pulling the trigger for half a century, whilst every other example is being actively hunted with and fired, rain, sleet, or snow. A Daytona Spider showing less than 4,000 original miles requires so much foresight of collectability from early owners and near-maniacal attention to preservation that the car’s offering at auction is nothing short of a historic event.