Jay Leno doesn't own Ferraris, but he still likes to have them on his Jay Leno's Garage YouTube show. This episode features a true Prancing Horse classic—a 1971 Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona.
The car is owned by Ferrari collector David Lee, who also brought his Ferrari 288 GTO and restomodded Dino to the garage for previous episodes. While those cars are also impressive, no Ferrari collection would be complete without a Daytona.
1971 Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona on Jay Leno's Garage
The Daytona was unveiled in 365 GTB4 coupe form at the 1968 Frankfurt auto show as the replacement for the 275 GTB4, with a distinctive version of the classic Ferrari front-engine look contrasting the mid-engine Lamborghini Miura that was then competing for the attention of the world's wealthy.
Ferrari didn't officially call this car "Daytona." That started as an unofficial nickname in recognition of Ferrari's 1-2-3 win at the 1967 Daytona 24 Hours, but it soon stuck. Ferrari also developed a racing version, the GTB4 Competizione, in 1971.
The 365 GTS/4 convertible version was announced at the 1969 Frankfurt show. It got a folding soft top, but retained the same mechanical package as the coupe. That means a 4.4-liter V-12 producing 347 hp and 318 lb-ft of torque, harnessed to a 5-speed manual transmission with a gated shifter.
Ferrari sold the coupe and convertible Daytona models through 1973, with the convertible accounting for 122 units, or about 10% of sales, according to the automaker (the car shown here is one of 18 painted yellow). That rarity makes the convertible much more valuable. Coupes are generally worth $600,000-$700,000, but convertibles can command $4.5 million, Lee said in the video.
The higher value of convertibles has incentivized some owners to cut the roofs off coupes, but this car is the real deal. Watch the full video for the rare opportunity to see it in motion.