Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona, 1972
Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona II
Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona II•
•9 مشاهدة
Chassis No.: 15757
- Exterior: Red
- Rosso Chiaro exterior
- Tan leather interior
- 4.4 liter front-engined V-12
- 5-speed manual transmission
- Borrani wire wheels
- Power windows, air conditioning, radio
- Extensive history file including old photos, receipts, notes and letters
- Ferrari Classiche Certificate of Authenticity
- Documented by Ferrari historian Marcel Massini
- Complete chassis and engine restored to Platinum level quality
- Originally sold from Vancouver Ferrari dealer Clarke Simpkins Motors to Ronald Dorst of Saratoga, California
- Sold in 1994 to noted Ferrari collector and wine maker Gil Nickel of Oakville, California
It has been almost 50 years since the Ferrari 365 GTB/4 was unveiled at the 1968 Paris Auto Salon, and yet the Daytona, as it has long been known, still elicits an uncanny level of pure lust from both casual observers and dedicated Ferrari enthusiasts alike. Classically proportioned and endowed with a muscular V-12, the Daytona’s arrival both pleased and surprised the motoring world. It bore stunningly handsome Pininfarina body work, but its long hood and rearward-located cockpit betrayed its front engine/rear drive layout, which caught off-guard those who expected Ferrari to answer such exotic competition as the new Lamborghini Miura with its own mid-engined supercar.
Ferrari had by then not only already produced highly successful mid-engine racing prototypes, but had also led the road-going side of the cause with the Dino 206 GT that would soon be followed by the Dino 246 GT. The overriding fact was that Enzo Ferrari’s front-engined sports cars had always excelled, and the Daytona was the logical extension of the world-beating 250 GTO and 275 GTB that came before it. The chassis followed standard Ferrari practice with ladder-type construction based on two oval section main tubes with abundant gusseting and triangulation for exceptional torsional strength.
To save weight and cost the passenger compartment was defined by fiberglass panels that included the floor pans, a Ferrari first. While extensive use of aluminum in the engine block and heads, transaxle, doors, hood and trunk lid further contributed to saving weight, the completed car was hardly a lightweight. The 4.4 liter V-12 engine, however, was up to the task of propelling the Daytona to its targeted top speed of over 170 MPH.
With new Clean Air Act parameters looming in the U.S. market, Ferrari initially experimented with a new three-valve, twin outside-plug, twin cam head design on the 330GTC block using dished pistons, arriving at a design somewhat similar to the V-12 used in the 330 P4 racing prototypes. Eventually, however, the factory settled on conventional two-valve twin cam heads with the spark plugs located between the cam banks and allowing for the use of conventional pistons. The final design was therefore one that followed Ferrari practice going back past the 275 GTB all the way to the first 4-cam V-12 in the 1949 Type 125 grand prix racer.
Even so, the specifications were certainly not antiquated: 12 cylinders, 4 cams, 6 Weber twin choke downdraft carburetors, dual ignition, aluminum block and heads, dry sump oiling and forged internals on a billet crank. And at an initial rating of 352 HP and 365 lb-ft of torque, its relative conventionality was hardly an issue, especially when lit up and heading for 7,500 RPM.
The engine’s forward location was balanced by placing the gearbox at the rear with the differential, following the practice employed in the superbly balanced 275 GTB, which also contributed its suspension layout incorporating coil-sprung upper and lower A-arms at all four corners and independent rear half shafts bracketed by constant velocity joints.The 365 GTB had all the ingredients for a great road car – balance, agility and power – but it was Pininfarina’s design that completed it as a Ferrari.
The 275 GTB’s classic curves gave way to taut surfaces, a compact but airy greenhouse and the distinctive sharp-edged nose whose initial covered headlight design soon gave way to pop-up units that served to maintain Pininfarina’s clean design. All these classic features constitute this absolutely splendid 1972 Ferrari 365 GTB built in 1972 and delivered new to Ronald Dorst of Saratoga, California via Vancouver, BC Ferrari dealer Clarke Simpkins Motors. Factory finished in Rosso Chiaro with a Tan leather interior, it offers air conditioning, power windows, chromed Borrani wire wheels with Michelin XWX radials and a Becker Europa II AM/FM radio.
In 1994 it was purchased by noted Ferrari collector and vintner Gil Nickel of Oakville, California. Given his well-known reputation as a Ferrari connoisseur, the late Nickel’s ownership of this car can itself be taken as particularly high praise. Freshly repainted in the original Rosso Chiaro, the car has been restored to Concours quality, including the beautifully aged interior and expertly finished chassis and engine compartment. Showing only 19,909 original miles, it has been documented by Ferrari historian Marcel Massini and comes complete with the tool kit and jack, owner’s manuals and an extensive history file including old photos, repair receipts, notes and letters from Mr.
Nickel during his research and purchase negotiations.
https://www.mecum.com/lots/219927/1972-ferrari-365-gtb-4-daytona/
