1968 London Motor Show, Earls Court

There is color picture on page 60 of the January 1969 issue of "Sports Car Graphic" showing a red Daytona on display at a show. The article ("European Showcase") covers the Paris and Earls Court shows at the end of 1968, but it doesn't say for certain which of these shows in particular is illustrated. I'm inclined to think it's Earls Court. I don't have a scanner hooked up at the moment, but I can do it later today if you wish to see.

 

Gary.... According to the Maranello Concessionaires records the first Daytona registered in UK was LHD 12555 on 15th September 1969. However there is reference to 12545 a LHD car painted in Azzuro Hyperion prior to this but no dates are given. Doesnt really help you but I think its certain that MC would have borrowed a car from the factory for display and the car was subsequently returned to them. For your interest the 1969 London show car was 12849 and 13775 appeared at the 1970 show on PF's stand with MC displaying 13791.

 

Did Pininfarina also have their own display at Earls Court? Pininfarina built one very early GTB/4 for themselves to.
Would it be reasonable to assume the Paris exhibit GTB/4 came to London to?

 

It seems Pininfarina did have a Earls Court display with a red Dino and a Bentley coupe with a Ferrari roof grafted on.
Also on the Ferrari display was 365 GT 2+2 s/n 12025 as an indication of where the serial numbers were at. The 365 GTB/4 was only on the Ferrari stand as the Dino models were mentioned as being two examples shown at Earls Court that year. Much was made of the fact that the new berlinetta coupe featured a 4 cam motor.

 

I think it would be 11795 as the Earls Court 365 GTB/4 show car. It seems there was a double presentation of the coupe for journalists. Once on the Pininfarina stand and also on the Ferrari stand there to. As described it seemed to me that Pininfarina had the coupe first for journalists there and then followed by Ferrari themselves for another presentation.
As noted elsewhere 11795 also was displayed at the Spanish Auto Show to.
The only other possible display coupe would have been 12037 which was light blue. A very close number to 12025 the dark blue (blu sera?) 2+2 model on the Ferrari display.

 

12037 was originally Azzurro Metallizzato 106-A-32 and remained a factory test car. It was totally destroyed on the 20th October 1969 near Maranello in the testing accident of Antonio Cocozza and Gian Andrea Bianchi, two factory engineers and test drivers, which were both killed. The remains of 12037 were scrapped.

Marcel Massini

 

I have an idea......... There is a weekly motoring magazine in the UK called AUTOCAR..... In the 1960's & 1970's they published what they referred to as The London Motor Show report. This would comprise and extra thick edition of their magazine during or directly after the show. The show was always held in October so if you were able to obtain copies of Autocar during the period October 1968 you may find the answer to your question.

From memory the reports were comprehensive and had many photos..... although in monochrome. It is inconceivable that a new Ferrari was not given plenty of footage...... It wont show the colour but with luck there may be a clue such as a registration plate......I could trace for you from that.
Also try to obtain a magazine of the same period called MOTOR.......same as above.

Finally Haymarket publishing who still own Autocar have a vast photographic library....and a website. Its called LAT... Again they might have photos. I will try to find you a copy but someone on here might just have a collection of old Autocars.

 

I think I have a comprehensive record of all cars....not just Ferrari... used by Col Ronnie Hoare and I can find no reference to 12037....... One often reads of Ferrari being described as.....ex Col Hoare. In fact this is never accurate. Any car the Colonel drove was never titled / registered to him. All Ferrari were titled to Maranello Concessionaires and other exotica to F English Ltd the Ford distributers he owned. All cars were constantly for sale and there were NO 'keepers'. For example if the Col had the use of a Daytona the same car would play a double role as either the sales or press demonstrator. These were expensive cars and the Colonel was not known to waste money.

 

I just had a look at ebay.......I have found what I think may help you. They are selling for a few pounds. You need copies of the Autocar dated 24th October 1968 titled Show Report & 31st October 1968 titled Show Review. Not experienced with ebay and couldnt fined a ref number but I just typed in 1968 Autocar magazines into UK ebay. Copied the pics though which show below....
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This is the picture from "Sports Car Graphic" mentioned in my post above. My scanner is inop, so this is a photo of the magazine page.
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My guess would be the Pininfarina stand at Earls Court. Note the Pininfarina styled Bentley T1 behind the Daytona. T1 pictured below>
The Daytona was simply displayed on carpet at the Paris display that Pininfarina had. Also on hand was a light color (not red) Dino parked right beside the Daytona in Paris.
Thanks for that Daytona image!
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I have recently purchased the 4th Ferrari Daytona prototype, s/n 11929, and have undertaken a great deal of research with regard to its history.
According to renowned French Ferrari historian Christian Huet, with whom I have communicated at length, 11929 was one of two Daytonas (the other being the red “press car”, s/n 11795) that was debuted to the world for the first time, and displayed at the Paris Auto Salon in October 1968. It has previously been mistaken for s/n 12037, but Mr. Huet has confirmed that 11929 was undoubtedly the second Paris Auto Salon car.

12037 was apparently never built until early 1969 and, as previously indicated, was painted a light shade of blue (Azzuro Metallizato), whereas 11929 was painted in a dark shade of metallic blue.

If anyone has any early information, pictures, or documentation with regard to Ferrari Daytona s/n 11929, I would be very grateful to receive it.

Attached below, is the only color picture of s/n 11929 that I have been able got access thus far, shown in dark blue metallic, at the October 1968 Auto Salon on Ferrari/Franco Britannic stand No. 51.

If it was also shown at the London Auto Show, which has yet to be determined, this is what it would have looked like.
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1969 car RHD
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The Paris show was first on October 2, 1968. From the picture it appears the dark blue 365 GTB/4 was the Ferrari display stand model. On the Pininfarina stand was the red 365 GTB/4 serial number 11795 as can be seen in the small picture below. It is parked near a light color Dino on the Pininfarina stand.

Then Earls Court London starting on October 16 - 26 featured both a Ferrari and a Pininfarina stand. Journalists mentioned a dual presentation of the new 365 GTB/4 on both stands. Both presentations could be attended by moving quickly from one display to the other display. Since the cars could not be moved after the show was set up it appears serial number 11929 was the Ferrari display car on their stand at Earls Court. Just as it had been arranged earlier in October at the Paris automobile show.
There seemed to be a 'blue' theme on the Ferrari stand with the dark blue Ferrari 2+2 GT model serial number 12025 being a similar color to the 365 GTB/4 serial number 11929 it shared the stand with.
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Welcome to Ferrarichat and a very cool car indeed that you have acquired.

Interesting that the plaque under the car quotes 400CV which equates to 394bhp. I assume that is a gross figure similar to the figures quoted by the US muscle cars at the time?

Also It mentions 300km/h or 186mph. I've not heard Ferrari making that as a claim for the top speed of the Daytona before? Were they making this claim before the independent tests came in a little lower (but more than enough to see off the Miura as fastest road car)?

 

very interesting that the dark blue car clearly has headrests? thought those came later.

 

Is that my eyes Ed or does the red car above also have headrests?

 

definitely no headrests in post #17 car.

 

I was talking about post 14 the red car which incidently does looks to be Earls court as Miltonian thought, it has the same flooring as the photo of the 69 Earls Court photo I posted.

 

Grant, i was observing that some early daytonas had headrests and some didn't.

 

Even in the Pininfarina press pictures of 11795 the car had headrests. However the b&w picture below appears to be the interior of 11795 being worked on and no headrests on the seats...
Note the radio fitted as well.
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