Super-Rare Ferrari roadster fetches $385k at Amelia auction

There are Ferraris, there are rare Ferraris, and then there are the exceptionally rare Ferraris, the likes of which collectors and enthusiasts wait to hit the auction block with bated breath. At last month's RM auction of vintage motor cars at the Amelia Island Concours D'Elegance, one such special Prancing Horse hit the auction block, selling at a price significantly lower than its estimated value.

The Ferrari 365 GTS/4 was the convertible version of the car nicknamed the Daytona, although officially it never received that nameplate. Only 121 such Daytona Spyders were built by the factory; the rest were chop-jobs performed on Daytona coupes by Carrozziere. Serial number 16467 was the 71st authentic 365 GTS/4 built by Maranello, and had a rather eventful history. The car was originally sold in the Reno, Nevada to an American customer named Mr. Greer. In 1975 it appeared in the Warner Bros. movie "A Star is Born" starring Kris Kristofferson and Barbara Streisand, and was severely damaged in the production. (Why they didn't use a mock-up like in the original Miami Vice series or at least a chopped-roof Daytona coupe is beyond reasoning.) The bashed-up car was sold to a Mr. Luigi Chinetti, who commissioned the coachbuilder Giovanni Michelotti (not to be confused with the Ferrari racing specialists Michelotto) to rebuild the damaged roadster into the one-of-a-kind special you see here. It would be among the last Michelotti would ever design.

Since being displayed at the Turin motor show in 1980, the Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Michelotti NART Spyder has changed ownership only a few times. Although its value prior to the auction was estimated between five and $700,000, the Spyder sold for only $385,000. It just goes to show that an item is only worth as much as someone's willing to pay for it, but this is one example that's bound to appreciate in value over the coming years.

[Source: RM Auctions]