The Daytona is not loved.

In my heart, the Daytona Spider is SO LOVED!!! IMO, it is the most beautiful Ferrari ever built!

 

That's because you're an Armenian and don't know any better ; )

john

 

Definitely has 'the look' I can see it crusing all day long at 150mpg

 

Maybe 15mpg if driven carefully but there's no way any Daytona is ever going to get 150mpg!










(and yes, I do realise you meant 150 mph! )

 

A few pictures of mine. All pictures by Paul Harmer for Octane Magazine and somewhat compressed down from the originals to load here!
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Very nice. What track\location is that in the upper left picture?

 

It's the old pits at the Reims-Gueux circuit, once home of the French Grand-Prix held on public roads.

 

Daytonafan, beautiful car! Nice photo opportunities.

 

Thanks car's been in my family since 1974.

 

Beautiful car !!! It looks fabulous !!!

 

In the US are European Daytonas selling for less than USA models?

 

Has anyone seen the European Daytona at Sheehan's for sale?

 

Don't know that, but the last 2 or 3 years classic Ferraris sell stronger in Europe than USA (imo).

 

Some of the earlier cars, even though street cars, have versions that have raced, such as the short wheelbase berlinetta, so that gives them some tie-in with racing Ferraris. True, Daytonas raced but the factory only reluctantly made racing versions and didn't back them heavily, so racing Daytonas are not that well known by those new in the Ferrari world. Also a lot of the vintage races draw the line on model year around the late '60s so you don't see Daytonas (if they let those in, they might have to let Panteras in, which were also produced in '72 and are around in far greater quantities).

On the plus side, Daytonas were produced when Enzo was still alive so they are "Enzo" era cars and the longer time that elapses from the Enzo era, the more important that is.

Also on the plus side, Daytonas didn't "date" as fast as some later Ferraris. Need I mention the 348 with its Pontiac looking rear styling, the Mondial 8 or the Testarossa with its side strakes (even someone in the Pininfarina family told me that was a mistake). The Daytona is more "pure of line" than many of its successors so ultimately purity in line will win out over those models whose styling is a bag full of cliches from earlier days (a hood scoop from this model, a side scoop from that one, etc. etc.)

Also as far as numbers made, I have a private opinion that 1,000 is the magic number. If a certain car has less than 1000 made there's more chance of it being a collector model. Look at Lussos, swb 250GTs, etc. The Daytona number of around 1200 isn't too high above 1000, and still better than the 300SL gullwing's 1485 (the factory gave me that number long ago...). So Daytonas are rarer than 300SL gullwings which I think are pushing $500,000 even for the steel bodied ones.

 

Fair point I received the brochure and entry conditions for the Tour Auto the other day and the only Daytonas eligible are the Group IV cars.

 

$500k for a Gullwing is way behind the curve. Gullwings and 300SL Roadsters have taken off (is there a pun there?) over the past two years and are consistently bringing $750K and more at auctions. Here is what "Sports Car Market" said about Gullwings in the November issue that reported on the August Monterey auctions: "Properly restored Gullwings continue to ascend as the gold standard, with no end in sight. Seven-figure sales for stellar examples are now the norm...." I believe an alloy Gullwing sold for $4 million not too long ago. Following are the Gullwings and 300 SL Roadsters in Sports Car Market's "Monterey's Top 200":

$1,595,000 1963 300 SL Roadster
$1,171,500 1955 Gullwing
$1,127,500 1955 Gullwing
$ 875,000 1956 Gullwing
$ 847,000 1960 300 SL Roadster
$ 814,000 1960 300 SL Roadster
$ 792,000 1961 300 SL Roadster
$ 638,000 1955 Gullwing
$ 609,500 1961 300 SL Roadster

 

Sorry you can't compare a Daytona to a Gullwing. The Gullwing was miles and miles ahead of everything at that time, a real landmark car, the Daytona on the other hand was just another case of adding more engine to keep Ferrari competitive, nothing ground breaking about it.
Pete

 

True.
They have a unique design attribute that has helped them become iconic beyond the collector world.

 

+365

not a like fruit comparison, cool cars in their own right

 

Both cars were the fastest production cars of their day, both were extremely capable GT's. But a Gullwing was hardly "miles and miles ahead" of a Lancia Aurelia, Ferrari 375MM or Jaguar D-type, to name a few contemporary examples. In fact the swing axle rear end of the benz was already obsolete in 1954 - and MB were still using it in SL's in 1971!

There was much more to a Daytona than a bigger engine, to dismiss it this way is incorrect. Yes it was an evolution of a 275, but it was a huge step in high speed handling and stability, it didn't overheat either the engine or driver and it was incredibly robust, as its racing record shows.

 

that's more to do with manufacturing exclusivity around the event, for the financial benefit of the organisers.

I don't get all this concern over value appreciation, making money out of Ferraris is good for brokers, but doesn't help enthusiasts who love driving them. We should celebrate the fact that an iconic, Le-Mans winning Ferrari model is still within reach of a goodly number of enthusiasts. If they were appreciating significantly, many more would become trailer queens - a sad end for any car.

 

Hello Pete; The Gullwing was/is "Revolutionary" & "Innovative"...."2" terms that cannot be applied to the Daytona.....Mark

 

I agree.

 

Comparing the Daytona to a 300SL is like comparing a Mike Tyson to Muhammed Ali. The 300SL (like Ali) is a legend, an Icon which basically is the most important car that left the factory of Mercedes in the post war era. $500'000 will not get a Gullwing, try $650-800'000 and the finer examples of the Gullwing today sell for over $1m.
The Daytona is an important car and is a legend in its own right. It will have its place in automotive history but not to the degree of a Gullwing which was completely revolutionary
and is perhaps one of the most important cars in automotive history period. That cannot be said of the Daytona.