Ofthe 1,200 FerrariDaytona 365GTB/4 models producedfrom 1969 to 1973, only five were made in a competition version, withlight aluminum bodywork. A special order led to the addition of aroad version with the same features.
Thisparticular model, after being forgotten for 40years in a Japanese barn,was brought "home" to Maranello in Italy, and sold for 1.6million eurosat RM Sotheby's "Ferrari – Leggenda e Passione" celebrations for the 70th anniversary of the Ferrari.
Aswas to be expected, the prices at this auction broke allrecords, confirming the brand's value. The record went to a FerrariAperta,auctioned for 8.3millioneuros (donated to Save the Children for educational projects inAfrica and Asia). It was arecord for a 21st century car.Staggering figures were also obtained for the 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWBsecond-seriesBerlinetta Competizione, which sold for 7.35million euros, and for the 1959 250 GT LWB CaliforniaSpider (7 million).
Yet,inevitably, the spotlight was on the Daytonafound in Japan, and it's a fascinatingstory.It is not the first time that vintage cars, even valuable ones, arerediscovered as forgotten treasures, restored and auctioned forrecord figures. Every time this happens, extraordinary news warms thehearts of enthusiasts and kindles the desires of collectors.
Therestyling of abandoned vintage cars is a thriving business forworkshopsspecialising inthis specific type of restoration work. Workshops that have updatedtheir machine park withprofessional shot blasting machines and sand blastersare able to perform surface treatments on car bodywork, making it asgood as new. But that is not all: using a shot blast machinespecialised technicians cleanaxles,suspensions,brakes,clutch drums and discs.In particular, thanks to angled belt shot blast machines, the discs – which are driven vertically through a continuous machine and sandblasted on both sides – are desanded and cleaned, avoiding contactbetween pieces. Such operations are essential in order tomaketheparts of vintage cars, discarded for decades, fullyfunctional.
Thecase of the Ferrari Daytonais truly amazing, since it is the onlyexamplein the world.
Producedin June 1969 to race in the 24Hours of Le Mans,the "road" version of the Daytona365GTB/4 was initially bought by LucianoConti,a renowned editor in Italy in those years, and considered by thepress to be the enemy-friendof Enzo Ferrari.In 1971, after having another two owners, the Daytona left Italy forJapan.
InJapan, the splendid Berlinetta, the star of the January 1972 issue ofCarGraphic magazine,immediately became famous. In seven years, it passed into the handsof Goro Guwa of Gifu and Tateo Ito of Nagoya – both of them making aseries of minor aesthetic changes to the car – and was then owned byMakoto Takai. From this moment onwards, all traces of it were lostand the car was forgotten, hiddenin a barn in the countryside.
Rediscoveredalmost by chance 40 years later, in an aesthetic state that couldhardly be called impeccable, the Daytonawas examined by Marcel Massini, a renowned Ferrari expert, whoconfirmed its identity after checking that it matched factoryrecords.
Therest is history. Still covered in dust yetgenerally in good condition,the 365 GTB/4 was sold for a record sum, considering that it had notundergone any maintenance work for 40 years. There is no good reasonto believe that the new owner will hide it in a barn!
Articlecompiled in collaboration with Turbotecnica S.p.A.
