The Ferrari factory
might not have initially realized the potential of the Daytona as a GT
competition car, but fortunately Luigi Chinetti did…
Out of the box
Ahead of the 1971 Le Mans 24 Hours, Chinetti’s North
American Racing Team (N.A.R.T.) set about converting a regular Ferrari 365
GTB/4 Daytona into a brutal GT racing car. With no time to test or develop the
car, it arrived at La Sarthe unproven, but with a strong chassis and an
enormous V12, there was certainly potential. A begrudging ‘Coco’ Chinetti drove
the car (he’d expected to drive a five-litre 512 S) with Bob Grossman, and the
pair amazingly finished fifth overall, behind only the more powerful and
aerodynamic prototypes. Ferrari soon recognized the achievement, and began to
prepare a number of cars at the factory for privateer teams.
Now, this significant Ferrari is being offered for sale by
the Keno Brothers at their Rolling Sculpture sale, taking place on 19 November in New
York. The thought of returning the car to Le Mans for the Classic (for which it
is eligible) is tantalising. Estimated at an impressive 4.9-5.9m US dollars, we
think it might be worth it for the spine-tingling roar of the V12 alone. Watch
the video above and you’ll know exactly where we’re coming from.
Photos and video: Keno Brothers
source: https://www.classicdriver.com/en/article/cars/ferrari-daytona-competizione-was-out-box-le-mans-challenger
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