One-Off 'Barn Find' Ferrari Daytona With Alloy Body Sells For $2.17 Million At Auction

However, the alloy bodied Daytona was an unknown for many Ferrari enthusiasts after its last owner, Makato Takai, hid the car away for almost 40 years in Japan after he acquired the Grand tourer in 1980.

The only road-going 'Alloy' 365 GTB / 4 Daytona in existence was bought out of storage and put up for sale at RM Sotheby's auction, which was held at the marque's factory in Italy as part of the company's 70th anniversary celebrations.

Despite the unrestored, ‘barn find' nature of the car, the ‘alloy' Ferrari Daytona commanded a price tag of $2.17 million (Rs 13.90 crore) when the hammer fell for third and final time in Italy.

The reasons for the crazy price tag for a car that is covered in dust and is more than 50 years old is the fact that its documented history is up to date and all the numbers that needed to match (engine and transaxle) did match, something verified by Ferrari historian and expert Marcel Massini earlier this year.

Also the fact that Daytona chassis number 12653 (about the 30th Daytona produced) wearing the Scaglietti body no. 32 (the only alloy bodied road-going Daytona) remains remarkably authentic in many ways and many parts including the door panels, sun visors, interior rear view mirror, seats, carpeting, gearshift knob and the headliner remain in good condition despite the near 40 years in storage.

The alloy Daytona sports a few minor modifications to its exterior made by Japanese owners after the car was shipped into the country in 1971.

When new, the Ferrari 365 GTB4 'Daytona' was powered by a 4.4-litre V12 that featured six Weber twin-choke 40 mm carburettors. The naturally aspirated V12 engine produced 347bhp at 7,500 rpm and 431Nm of torque at 5,500rpm

DriveSpark Thinks!

The Daytona is one of the most beautiful looking cars that Ferrari ever produced. The fact that this ‘Alloy' Daytona was barely known by Ferrari enthusiasts thanks to it being hidden in a storage facility in Japan for nearly 40 years added to the myth surrounding the car.

Combine that with the rarity of the car (which has done around 35,400 kilometres) and the near stock, unrestored nature of the car which still has many parts still in good condition (the spare tyre was unused) and add in the fact that all the numbers that mattered matched and you can see why the Daytona commanded such an astonishing price on the auction block.

Did You Know?

The 365 GTB4 made its public debut at the 1968 Paris Motor Show where it was dubbed the "Daytona" by the media of the time, supposedly in recognition of the Ferrari 1-2-3 victory in the Daytona 24-Hour Race in 1967. While Ferrari never uses the Daytona name, the media endowed title has stuck.