When a vehicle is made by a brand that stands for the absolute best in automotive performance you might think that nearly everything built would be kept in some way. We’ve seen evidence of scraps of drawings and napkin ideas that have been kept by those who understood their significance and decided to make sure those early ideas were kept and logged for future display to the world of the sheer brilliance of a person when they began to work on the project they had in mind. Because we’re so enamored with cataloging and tracking historical significance it seems strange that a single example of a car would make its way to a barn.
Setting the Stage
By 1969 there wasn’t any doubt which brand was one of the top names in the automotive industry when it comes to performance. The Ferrari name was known around the world and had been the brand that regularly won many of the major races around the world and showed off with sleek designs and powerful engines that allowed cars to rip off fast laps and capture our imagination. The fact that the name bore so much respect and admiration makes what has happened even more amazing.
In 1969, there was a car that was built by Ferrari and it was a single example that was never reproduced. Because of this rarity, it seems the car should have immediately been placed in storage to be put on display in a museum or added to a private collection to allow it to be cared for and maintained properly, but that wasn’t the case. Instead, this car was bought by a friend of Enzo Ferrari and eventually made its way into disrepair and to being kept in a barn in Japan.
What is this Singular Car?
The car that was purchased and was only built once is a rare road going Alloy bodied 365 GTB/4 Daytona. This car is one we’re familiar with in other builds, but this happens to be the only one built in this manner in existence. What happened after it was sold to the friend of Enzo is hard to imagine, but somehow it found its way to Japan and was put in a barn for storage, only to be found recently and photographed before its put up for auction to hopefully become entirely restored and ready to be put on display in a private collection or at a museum.
While the photos on the RM Sotheby’s website don’t paint a pretty picture, mostly what’s causing the awful appearance is simply years of dirt and grime that have been caked onto the car. This is a car that will be sold at auction as part of the Ferrari-Leggenda e Passione auction on September 9 of this year. There isn’t a reserve price set for this car, but it is expected to receive a price of around $2 million and once its restored and revitalized we may see it in future years selling for even more.
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