Eric Clapton’s 1971 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona – Classified of the Week
October 17, 2023
We think it’s safe to say that we’ve sold a few high profile cars here at Car & Classic over the years. It’s part of what we do. From John Dodd’s epic The Beast to another larger than life character’s car in the form of Elvis Presley’s Cadillac, you lovely lot continue to trust us to handle the successful sale of whatever classic you’ve decided to part ways with and send on down the road – whomever the previous owners were – for the best price possible. And as a collective of passionate enthusiasts ourselves we will continue to do so. The reason we’re mentioning famous owners is because we have another such car available via our classifieds currently. The car in question is a 1971 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 and it was once owned and driven by old Slow Hands himself. Yep, that’s right, for sale through Car & Classic is Eric Clapton’s Ferrari Daytona. Nice.
Full disclosure: we will be peppering this article with myriad Clapton references a-la Chris Packham on Springwatch so give yourself a pat on the back if you manage to spot them all but suffice to say we’re not pretending. This Ferrari Daytona may be an old love of Clapton’s but regardless of who has sat behind the perfectly machined and leather-trimmed steering wheel it remains a truly excellent car and one that wears it’s Prancing Horse badge with pride.
Beautifully penned by Leonardo Fioravanti at Pininfarina the Ferrari 365 GTB/4 was an evolution of the 275 that came before it. With its 4.4-litre V12 engine breathing through not one but six twin-choke Webers the Daytona – unofficially named after that most famous of American 24 hour races – produced almost 350bhp and was capable of a top speed of 174mph, with 60 arriving in a rather rapid 5.4seconds. This was plenty fast enough to get you further on up the road in a short space of time but not only was it powerful, it was also inherently well balanced thanks to excellent weight distribution, an achievement facilitated by the use of a rear gearbox transaxle. You must believe me, the Daytona is driving perfection.
As far as the nomenclature goes, the 365 part denotes the displacement per cylinder in cubic centimetres with the 4 indicating the number of overhead camshafts. The engine was a longer block, larger bore derivative of the V12 from the 275 but the dimensions of the car itself remained, albeit with a more angular inflection, as was de rigueur for the time.
This particular example was imported by Maranello Concessionaires Ltd. on the 9th of December 1970 as a factory right-hand drive, five-speed manual. Numerous high profile and deep of pocket owners followed but it wasn’t until the late ’80s that the car received a full, professional restoration at the hands of Stephen moody of MSD Motor Company Ltd. As part of the recommissioning the car received a change of colour from its original Argento Auteuil to the Grigio Scuro shade that it currently sports. Make no mistake, this was a proper job, as they say, with all genuine parts supplied by Maranello Concessionaires.
At was at this point, after the resto, that Mr Clapton took ownership, a man that isn’t a stranger to the odd Ferrari and the fact that he kept hold of it for over a decade speaks volumes as to the car’s lasting appeal. Available via our friends at Bell Sport and Classic it still presents in exceptional condition, but then Tim and the team also know a thing or two when it comes to Fezzas.
Such a well-presented, low mileage example would make an excellent addition to any collection but when you combine that with the car’s impressive history and provenance then you have something truly special. Before you accuse me of waxing too lyrically about this Ferrari just bear in mind that cars with famous owners always do well and Eric Clapton is about as famous as they come so when your day is done, and you want to run then this Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona is definitely the car to escape in.
