Special, even by Ferrari StandardS

By the late 1960s, coachbuilt specials on Ferrari chassis were on the wane – but this unique version of the Daytona was an exception

This 1969 Ferrari DayTona Speciale stands at the crossroads of automotive history. Two major trends were playing out when it was created and, intriguingly, this one-off in many ways signified the end points in both.

The story begins in 1966, when the Daytona was conceived – but in Turin and not Ferrari’s home base of Maranello. That’s when 28-yearold stylist Leonardo Fioravanti was in the early years of his meteoric rise in Pininfarina’s design department, and happened upon an unclothed Ferrari chassis for the first time. ‘It was a 330 GTC-GTS,’ he joyfully recalled, ‘and [it] struck me as something really unique.’

That chance encounter sparked a serious creative urge, and soon Fioravanti’s pen was sweeping across the proverbial blank sheet of paper. ‘I wanted to faithfully follow the shape and dimensions of the mechanical underpinnings,’ he said, ‘with extreme attention paid to the aerodynamics. The first drafts, and the more specific sketches I made later, really pleased Sergio Pininfarina.’

Although the up-and-coming designer didn’t realise it, the timing of his sketching binge could not have been better. In mid-1966, many thought Ferrari would go mid-engined with its next top offering, as Maranello had been dominating endurance racing with the configuration since 1963.

Pininfarina had already designed the Le Mans-winning 250 LM, and the carrozzeria had shown a potential mid-engined street Ferrari with the very first Dino prototype at