1967 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Prototype!
We’ve all seen situations where an owner has described their classic car as a unicorn, and some claims are more credible than others. It is a tag that this 1967 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona could rightly claim because this car is a genuine and documented Prototype. It has undergone a meticulous restoration to return it to its factory appearance and specifications and could represent a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for someone to own a truly unique vehicle. It is set to cross the auction blocks in a sealed auction from May 22nd to 26th. The Ferrari is listed here at RM Sotheby’s in Düsseldorf, Germany. I must say a big thank you to Barn Finder Mitchell G. for referring an Italian icon.
It is hard to know where to start with a car like this Ferrari because Prototypes write their own rules. The vehicle was designed by Leonardo Fioravanti at Pininfarina but was built by Carrozzeria Scaglietti. It utilizes the Tipo 596 steel box chassis as used for the Ferrari 275 GTB/4. The production model is popularly called a Daytona, but Ferrari states it is an unofficial name. The Prototype differs from the production version in several key areas, with the most obvious being a unique rear end and taillight treatment. The hood and nose are reminiscent of the Ferrari 275 GTB/4, although flattened slightly for a more sleek and aggressive appearance. This Ferrari has a fascinating history that has taken it across the globe. The company utilized it for significant testing as the first of six Prototypes produced. Once it left the factory in Maranello, it spent time in various parts of Italy with several owners before being shipped to the United States in 1972. It worked its way around the country before embarking on an epic trip to Switzerland in 1989. It deteriorated over subsequent years before the current owner’s father purchased it in 2003. They relocated the car to the Netherlands almost immediately, handing it to a team of specialists to restore every aspect of the vehicle to its factory specifications. No stone was left unturned, and the presentation is impossible to fault. Its panels are beautiful, with gaps as tight and consistent as any buyer would expect from a handbuilt classic of this value. Its Silver paint is flawless, as are the glass and chrome. If anything surprises me about this Prototype, it is that Ferrari hasn’t made a play to repurchase it for display in its museum. However, I wouldn’t rule that out during this auction.
Using the term “numbers-matching” to describe any Prototype is difficult because they will often receive drivetrain changes to test new or upgraded components. This Ferrari doesn’t feature its rear-mounted transaxle as fitted when it left the factory, but the engine is documented and confirmed as original to this car. It is also significantly different from the one that found its way into the production versions and was deemed an experimental powerplant. Designated Tipo 243, the company took the V12 engine block from the 330 GT but increased its capacity from 3,967cc to 4,380cc. Lubrication is via a dry sump system, while the motor inhales deeply through a set of six Weber 40 DCN18 carburetors. However, the cylinder heads and ignition system set this motor apart. The company bolted on their three-valve heads rather than the production four-valve items. It features a dual ignition system and two spark plugs per cylinder. Nobody has quoted an official power output figure, and it would be fair to assume it is higher than the production unit’s 395hp. This classic has seen limited use since the restoration was completed, but Ferrari specialists, Forza Service, have regularly and appropriately maintained it. It is said to run and drive perfectly, and the seller includes comprehensive documentation outlining the car’s history, restoration, and specifications.
Considering this Ferrari’s history over the past two decades and its inherent value, the spotless interior is unsurprising. The upholstered surfaces feature supple and flawless Black leather, with the driver viewing a wide selection of gauges through the spokes of a wood-rimmed wheel. I’ve always believed that a genuine Italian supercar should feature a gated shifter, and this Prototype doesn’t disappoint me. It is there in all its glory, complete with a machined aluminum knob that would feel superb as the driver swaps ratios enthusiastically. The overall condition is museum-quality, confirming this car has been treated respectfully since its restoration ended.
I would usually end an article like this speculating about the feature car’s sale price. However, I wonder how I could do that accurately with a vehicle as unique as this 1967 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Prototype. It is an extraordinary vehicle that has a documented history and that has received a meticulous restoration to recapture its former glory. Finding a prototype from any manufacturer that escaped the factory is rare. Most spend their lives in a museum or are crushed to prevent potential legal issues. This Ferrari has avoided both of those fates and if I must speculate, I expect the bidding to head comfortably into seven-digit territory. Are you willing to take a guess, or would you rather pass on that idea?
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Comments
I must say that’s a great looking if not strange looking Ferrari, at least it’s not Rosso Corsa. Anyhow with no more information than in this article I shall put forth my guess at $8,380,000.
That’s an eye watering estimate Jack but I wouldn’t be surprised if you are in the ball park on it.
JACK!
Accurate estimate. I think this will realize 8 figures. $10.5MM…MEOW!!!
Vulgar. Just think of the good that money could do. When I meet my maker, I do not want to hear a question as to why a spent 8 figures on a used car when there are starving children in a war torn world? Just saying.
Dang, Jack…. i spent my last 8 mil. on…..oh wait…..I NEVER had 8 mil…….
8 plus millions… for a car that most people , at first glance, will take for an early 80’s 280Z?… WOW what’s in a name ..Right!?
Had a production Daytona customer who brought his car in for various small problems like the door window mechanisms and paint touch up. It was amazing how crude the workmanship was ala Fiat. Admit that we did a lot of standing around just looking at it. Beautiful car and the engine sound gave us goose bumps.
poor gramnar, hard to read.
“gramnar”?
At least it is not on Craig’s List.
I’ve sent my sealed bid to Sotheby’s via secure carrier pigeon.
Go big or go home 25 mil.
I think the production version looks a lot better.
One of the best styled Ferraris.
“doesn’t feature its rear-mounted transaxle as fitted when it left the factory”
It doesn’t have a transaxle?
I drove a 456GT a couple of weeks ago. In many ways to me, it was a Daytona with 25 years of upgrades. It still had the gated shifter with a 6 speed.
Auction website shows standard-looking shifter and tunnel; I think the author was trying to say that the transaxle isn’t the original one, even if that’s not what he actually wrote.
Beautiful car. I had trouble keeping my Volvo with 2 downdraft carbs in sync without a gauge. What kind of gauge would be used to keep these in sync?
Thanks
I used to use a Unisyn on my TR 4. Same principle. ?
I’ve used a piece of hose, unisyn and synchrometer (I also have the kit with the wires that go in the dashpots on SUs.). I have an adapter for the synchrometer that fits the downdraft DGVs and Holley 2 throats.
3, 4 or 6 carbs just take more time and patience than a pair to synchronize.
For tuning Webers, the more carbs the bigger the investment in calibrated parts.
If I had the money (my guess is at least 20M) it would be in my garage. I think it looks even better then the production models. On the RM website, the third picture of those Webers is just pure art. I know people would consider me nuts but I would drive it as much as possible.
Yikes. Imagine trying to get those carbs all properly adjusted! A real beauty but a little out of my price range!😉
Jay Leno car/money. Any of you guys have his phone number so he can know about this? I seem to have misplaced it…
Beautiful car. I’ll probably rot in Hell for saying this, but those tail lights remind me of a ’65 Chevy with Harbor Freight lenses.
pasha:
https://www.maserati.com/us/en/brand/maserati-classic-cars/gran-turismo/ghibli
always a fan of the Daytonas. …especially after Kris Kristofferson drove one in A Star is Born, I do like the hidden headlights of the production version best, but wow, any Daytona would do it for me.
I like the looks of this one, but it’s way too expensive period.
I can write a number that big, but I sure couldn’t match it with $.
👍
The price is more than the 4 homes I owned, all 35 cars I haved own, and all of income my wife and I have ernded in the last 51 year’s WTF!!!!!!!! Must be nice being able to piss away that kind of money for a car that you can’t really drive and enjoy because it will depreciate!!
I wonder why Ferrari is distancing itself from the name “Daytona”? They were using it in car magazines during the car’s production. Rolex uses the name, so I doubt it is a trademark issue.
I don’t know Ferrari’s, so I don’t understand why the value of this car would be so different from a 1962 Ferrari 330 GT prototype coupe by Pininfarina and used as Enzo Ferrari’s personal. That car was listed for $495,900 in the March 2020 Hemmings and for sale by Daniel Schmitt & Co.
https://www.schmitt.com/inventory/1962-ferrari-330gt-2-plus-2-coupe-by-pininfarina-enzo-ferraris-personal-car/
Wait, what? Since when did this engine have either 3- or 4-valve heads? Did the author just make that up to see if we were paying attention?
says it was part of the prototype …..didn’t the P cars use 3 valve heads?
I believe the 330P4 and at least some variants of the 312 F1 car had 3-valve heads, but those were both DOHC heads, and this engine is clearly SOHC.
But, on further examination, one of the auction site’s crummy engine photos does show just enough of a hint of the intake manifolds to make me think it might actually be a 3-valve head. But that would make it a completely unique one-off head design, not used on any other Ferrari road or race car ever!
(And later production Daytonas certainly had 2- rather than 4-valve heads, hence my initial suspicion that the author was entirely full of it.)