Vehicle Description
Chassis No. 12681
Despite reaching the 500 road-going examples of the 365 GTB/4
required for FIA homologation in the Group 4 Special Grand Touring
Car category by 1971, Ferrari had no intention of developing a
competition version of their Miura-beating grand tourer.
Nevertheless, a number of privateers made it their mission to race
the Daytona, with Luigi Chinetti's North American Racing Team
(NART) being the first to prove its competition potential. The
racing driver and Ferrari importer ordered an aluminum-bodied
Daytona, which he campaigned unsuccessfully at the 1969 24 Hours of
Le Mans. Undeterred, Chinetti developed two additional Competizione
examples, his foresight finally paying off in 1971 when chassis
number 12467 achieved a fifth-place finish overall at Le Mans.
These early attempts by Chinetti's NART team garnered the attention
of Ferrari's Assistenza Clienti division, who began developing
factory competition Daytonas in the summer of 1971. Ferrari would
produce three different batches of five cars each, with Series III
specification being the final and most evolved of the three
batches. Limited to 15 true works examples built between 1971 and
1973, with additional examples prepared for racing in period,
private specialists continued converting road-going Daytonas to
Competizione specification long after the Daytona's racing
retirement.
Starting life as a left-hand drive, plexi-nose road car for the
European market, this 365 GTB/4 was dispatched to Motor S.a.s. di
Carla Allegretti e C., Bologna, Italy, and sold new to Dino Fabbri
of Milan, Italy in July 1969. The Massini Report on file and
available for review upon request shows that the Ferrari was
originally finished in an extremely rare shade of Verde Pino
(106-G-30) over Beige (VM) Connolly leather. Like many exotic
Italian GT cars of the era, Daytona 12681 made its way to the
United States in 1976 where it is known to have been owned by
Richard Ernest Watkins of Richmond, Virginia prior to trading it in
to Foreign Cars Italia (FCI), Greensboro, North Carolina in
December 1978. Recorded as being finished in burgundy over a black
interior and riding on Borrani wire wheels, 12681 was sold to Carl
Caskey of Augusta, Georgia in March 1979 and subsequently returned
to FCI the following year. The car was carefully disassembled by
FCI to begin a full restoration and Competizione conversion.
Priorities change, and by October 1983, the incomplete 12681 and
numerous competition parts were offered for sale by FCI and
purchased by an owner in Tennessee before selling the project
himself a year later to the Netherlands. Its Dutch owner promptly
commissioned marque expert Piet Roelofs of Roelofs Engineering to
complete the Competizione conversion, concluding his work in 1985.
A further two Dutch owners followed before 12681 entered the
long-term care of Rudolph Booker of Amsterdam, Holland, enjoying
steady maintenance during his 15-year stewardship. The succeeding
decade saw the Ferrari return to the US before being acquired by
the Virginia-based collection of its late owner in 2009.
During its current ownership, the Daytona has been seen at various
historic motoring events between 2014 and 2018, including the
Monterey Motorsports Reunion, Classic 12 Hour at Sebring, and
Classic 24 Hour at Daytona. With support from Heritage Motorsports
race team, 12681 was campaigned at the highest level in the hands
of former Formula One drivers Jochen Mass and Arturo Merzario, as
well as other prominent professional drivers. As one would expect
with a frequent competitor, the car has been subjected to regular
and substantial maintenance. Most notably, the engine, six Weber
carburetors, and differential were treated to a full rebuild in
2016 by Francorchamps of America in Costa Mesa, California. The
consignor states that a replacement engine block was sourced from
the Netherlands for the rebuild, while the car is believed to
retain its original five-speed transaxle. Machining of the block,
coating of the pistons, and replacement of the piston rings, timing
chain, valves, seats, and guides round out a sampling of the work
performed. A full description of the work completed in the rebuild
is detailed in an accompanying service invoice in excess of
$59,000. Furthermore, this Daytona is offered with a removed
spoiler that was previously mounted to the trunk lid, an additional
set of alloy 15-inch Campagnolo wheels with hexagonal knockoffs,
and an FIA Historic Technical Passport dated 11 July 2014.
Photographing well under the lights of Heritage Motorsports
President David Hinton's workshop, the car wears an older repaint
in Rosso Corsa and presents in race-prepared condition, recently
benefitting from a respray of the front chin spoiler in black
earlier this year.
A faithful tribute to one of the greatest GT cars in Ferrari
history, this expertly sorted Competizione conversion stays true to
the formula of continual development pioneered by NART and other
privateers of the early 1970s. This potent and highly unique
version of an already special Ferrari is ideal for an owner who
wants their Daytona to stand out among its 'ordinary' road-going
counterparts, or a factory Competizione owner seeking a conversion
for competitive purposes. Having seen eight hours of running time
in practice and races since completion of the rebuild, chassis no.
12681 remains a highly usable and competitive berlinetta that would
make an intriguing addition to any Ferrari enthusiast's
collection.
