Chassis No. 14173
Engine No. B 822
Transmission No. 323

The Ferrari 365 GTB/4 “Daytona” became the ultimate expression of Ferrari's front-engined, V12-powered grand tourers when it debuted at the Paris Salon in 1968. An evolution of the sleek and high-performance 275 GTB/4, the Daytona was the most expensive Ferrari ever produced and the world's fastest production car at the time of its introduction. Today, they remain eminently collectible as a landmark model for the marque and an uncompromisingly focused machine.

Chassis number 14173 is a U.S.-delivery Ferrari 365 GTB/4, completed by the factory on 12 March 1971 in the striking and rarely seen color combination of Azzurro Dino (20-A-349) over Pelle Blu (VM 3282) leather. According to a history report compiled by marque historian Marcel Massini, this stunning color was applied to just eleven examples of the model. The report further notes that the car was equipped from new with air conditioning, power windows, and instruments in miles.

Delivered new through William F. Harrah's famous U.S. West Coast distributorship, Modern Classic Motors of Reno, Nevada, the car was sold in 1972 to its first private owner, Rudolph R. Stoessel of Los Angeles. By the early 1980s, 14173 had been repainted red and retrimmed with a black interior, a presentation it would wear for several decades. Period Ferrari Market Letter advertisements from 1982 and 1983 place the berlinetta in Houston, Texas, noting Borrani wire wheels and approximately 37,000 miles shown, while also referencing its inclusion in Pat Braden and Gerald Roush's Ferrari Daytona.

In February 1983, 14173 passed to Bill Gillespie of Germantown, Tennessee, before being sold two years later to John Benassi of Rancho Santa Fe, California. During this period, the engine was rebuilt by Bill Rudd to “Competition Daytona” specifications. The car continued to benefit from specialist care in California, with service through the 1990s entrusted to Bobileff Motor Cars of San Diego and, in the 2000s, to Rod Drew's Francorchamps of America in Costa Mesa. When Mike Sheehan took 14173 in trade in February 2003, showing 55,000 miles, he noted its “hot-rod” specification engine with competition pistons and camshafts, describing it as “a very fast Daytona.”

In April 2005, a comprehensive service was performed by Francorchamps of America, encompassing removing and reinstalling the engine, replacing all hoses and belts, installing a new clutch assembly and ring gear, overhauling the distributors, fitting electronic ignition, rebuilding the starter, machining the brake rotors, rebuilding the wheel cylinders, and renewing components of the air conditioning, cooling, electrical, and headlamp systems. The car sold through Mike Sheehan's Ferrari Online in December 2007 and remained with the same owner through at least early 2012.

By January 2017, the Daytona was in the care of Copley Motorcars of Needham, Massachusetts, described as having just received mechanical attention by Craig Hill's Top of the Hill Ferrari Service in Livermore, California, reportedly totaling $170,000. Work included new brakes, clutch kit, headlight motor, radiator fans, AC compressor, rear axle CV boots, flywheel ring gear, resurfaced flywheel, refurbished Borrani wheel spokes, rebuilt starter motor, and new motor mounts.

Now returned to its original Azzurro Dino over Blu leather presentation, chassis 14173 was granted Ferrari Classiche certification in December 2020, its accompanying “Red Book” confirming the retention of its original matching-numbers engine, stamped B 822, as well as a correct Tipo 605 transaxle. One of a small handful of Daytonas built in this evocative factory color, it combines well-documented ownership history and decades of specialist care. With its torque-rich four-cam V12 and long-legged gearing, the Daytona remains one of the most usable and rewarding grand tourers of its era.