Rare Ferrari Daytona found after 40 years in Japanese barn

Sep 02, 2017 | News On Japan

Sep 02, 2017 (CNN) - Many thought this car didn't even exist. Ferrari had, in fact, only ever commissioned one street version of its Daytona with a full aluminum body.

But for the last 40 years, this one-off was nowhere to be found. That's because it was gathering dust in a Japanese barn after being shipped out of Italy in 1971.

Between 1969 and 1973, Ferrari produced over 1,200 units of its 365 GTB/4, a two-seat grand tourer capable of 174 mph and unofficially nicknamed "Daytona."

It also commissioned five lightweight alloy versions of the car, to compete in the endurance race 24 Hours of Daytona. And just one alloy version that was street legal.

This is that very car, bearing the chassis number 12653 and featuring an all-aluminum body by renowned car designer Sergio Scaglietti, whose "Carrozzeria" has been doing chassis and body assembly on Ferrari cars since the 1950s.

Completed in 1969, the car was exported to a Japanese dealership in 1971 and then featured in the January 1972 issue of Car Graphic, a Japanese motoring magazine.

After passing hands several times, it ended up in the barn of its last owner, Makoto Takai, some time around 1980.

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