Zink Z-8

1969 Zink-Volkswagen Z-8 Daytona Prototype

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 19-20, 2022

Photo – Gooding & Company

Ed Zink is most remembered for his Formula Vee open-wheel race cars, but in the 1960s, it was hard not to get caught up in prototype sports car racing, apparently. The Z-8 featured a space-frame chassis wrapped in fiberglass bodywork.

For power, project cheerleader and idea man Hugh Heishman (a Virginia Volkswagen dealer) turned to VW for their new Type 3E fuel-injected flat-four. The 1.9-liter unit is carbureted now and is estimated to make about 150 horsepower. The car was run in period, including:

  • 1969 24 Hours of Daytona – 18th, 3rd in class (with Bill Scott, Jim McDaniel, and Steve Pieper)
  • 1969 12 Hours of Sebring – 68th, DNF (with Scott, McDaniel, and Pieper)

It went SCCA racing in privateer hands after that, eventually being stored in a disassembled state. A restoration that completed in 2017 brought it to its current condition. Gooding estimates a price of $150,000-$200,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $75,000.

Ferrari Daytona

1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona

Offered by Mecum | Kissimmee, Florida | January 15, 2021

Photo – Mecum

Here’s another “blue chip” collector car. The Ferrari Daytona is one of the last “classic” Ferraris, in my opinion. Before things got all boxy. The 365 GTB/4 was styled by Leonardo Fioravanti at Pininfarina – not really a household name, which is a shame because this car is gorgeous.

Ferrari built 1,383 Daytona coupes between 1968 and 1973, and they also made just 122 Spyders, or “GTS/4”s. Power is from a 347-horsepower, 4.4-liter V12. Top speed is 174 mph. This car has six Weber carburetors, a limited-slip differential, Borrani wire wheels, Ansa exhaust, and air conditioning.

The Daytona Spyder is a million-dollar car every day of the week. The Berlinetta version has been creeping up over the years, and this one is estimated between $650,000-$700,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $500,000.

Charger Daytona

1969 Dodge Charger Daytona

Offered by Mecum | Kissimmee, Florida | January 2-12, 2020

Photo – Mecum

Before the mighty Plymouth Superbird debuted in 1970, there was the 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona. Based on the Charger, the car featured a sheet metal nose cone and a big rear spoiler. These modifications were intended to help Dodge win some big NASCAR races. And it worked.

Two engines were offered: a 440 and the Hemi. While we previously featured a Hemi variant, this is our chance to showcase the “base” version, as we did a few weeks ago with the Superbird.

The standard 7.2-liter V8 made 375 horsepower. Only 543 Charger Daytonas were built in total, which makes them rarer than their Mopar cousin. This car is one of only two 440-powered cars with an automatic transmission that were finished in white. You can read more about it here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $346,500.

Paige Daytona Speedster

1921 Paige 6-66 Daytona Speedster

Offered by Bonhams | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | October 8, 2018

Photo – Bonhams

The Paige-Detroit went on sale in 1909 and after about a year and a half, company namesake Fred O. Paige was forced out of the company and the new owners dropped the “Detroit” suffix and began selling cars called the Paige. Without Mr. Paige, Paige would produce cars from 1911 through 1927 when they were acquired by Graham Brothers to form Graham-Paige.

The Model 6-66 was apparently named by someone who had no sense of superstition and assumed the public wouldn’t mind either. It was produced in 1921 and 1922 as Paige’s largest offering. Power is from a 5.4-liter straight-six capable of 70 horsepower.

The Daytona Speedster was so named because Paige took a Model 6-66 to Daytona Beach and clocked it at 102 mph, making this one of the first 100 mph cars available to the American public (though they only promised 80 mph in road-going models). My records show that it was only available in 1922, but weird things happen to the titles of old cars all the time.

This example was restored in the U.K. in 2013 and it is one of 18 known Daytona Speedsters in existence, which actually goes to show how fondly these were remembered back in the day. As one of America’s first true sports cars, and freshly rebuilt, this car should bring between $100,000-$130,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $84,000.

Ferrari Daytona Wagon

1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Shooting Brake by Panther Westwinds

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 20-21, 2016

Photo - Gooding & Company

Photo – Gooding & Company

We’ll start by urging you to go to Gooding & Company’s website to check out more pictures of this awesome car. Sure, it’s a Ferrari Daytona, but it has been turned into a shooting brake – a two-door wagon. The rear section features a lot of glass, including a huge rear window and gullwing-hinged side glass that fold up. It’s astonishing.

As a 365 GTB/4 this car is powered by a 4.4-liter V-12 making 352 horsepower. The design was actually done by Luigi Chinetti Jr. for a customer at his dealership. The body was built by Panther Westwinds, a manufacturer of sports cars in their own right.

The first owner was a Floridian who surely enjoyed driving this mobile, black, glass greenhouse. It would have a few other American owners (and one Belgian). The current owner acquired the car in 2013 and had it completely restored. It has only covered 4,500 miles in its life, which is incredible. This unique one-off is expected to bring between $700,000-$1,000,000. Click here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Ferrari Daytona Spyder

1971 Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spyder

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | London, U.K. | September 4, 2014

Photo - Silverstone Auctions

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

While many vintage Ferrari models as of late have quickly approached (and in some cases, surpassed) the million dollar mark, the Daytona Spyder has long been a million dollar Ferrari. They are very rare – although recreations seem to be as numerous as originals as many owners had their Daytona’s roofs cut off in the 1980s and 1990s because a convertible was cooler.

No one would dare cut open a Daytona today, but those conversions are out there. This, however, is the real thing – a genuine 365 GTS/4. One of only 122 built (for comparison, 1,284 hardtop coupes were built, the GTB/4). The engine is a front-mounted 4.4-liter V-12 that makes 352 horsepower. This is one of the most classic Ferraris (in coupe or spyder form) and perfect for your daily driver around Monaco.

This particular car was purchased new by Bill Harrah and he sold it in 1976. It spent the next 31 years with that new owner before the current owner acquired it in 2008 – and to date, the car has only covered 3,946 miles. It’s practically brand new (although it has been thoroughly recommissioned and repainted).

If you feel the need to drive around pretending you’re Don Johnson from Miami Vice (as I so often do), then this is a car you’ll need in your fleet (Crockett’s car in the show was actually a Corvette done up to look like a Daytona Spyder). Anyway, this is the real deal and it’s among the very finest Daytona Spyders in the world (and perhaps the lowest mileage). It should sell for between $3,000,000-$3,750,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Silverstone’s auction lineup.

Update: Sold $3,711,510.

NART Daytona Spider

1971 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona N.A.R.T. Spider by Michelotti

Offered by Gooding & Company | Monterey, California | August 17-18, 2013

1971 Ferrari 365 GTB4 Daytona NART Spider

The Ferrari Daytona is one of the most classic Ferraris. Of the cars they built in the late-1960s and even through most the 1970s, these are the Ferraris everybody wants. And on top of that, there is the 365 GTS/4 – or Daytona Spider. These are exceptionally rare and highly prized and collectible. They were built by Scaglietti.

And then there’s this. Only a handful of Ferrari Daytonas were custom-bodied and this is one of them. It is one of five custom-bodied Daytonas commissioned by Luigi Chinetti (the guy responsible for Ferrari being in America) – though not all were the same. It was built as a 365 GTB/4 coupe and sold by Chinetti in Connecticut. He bought it back in 1976 and shipped it to Michelotti in Italy to receive this custom body.

Michelotti designed it and built three just like it – all for Chinetti. It was finished in the colors you see and given to Mrs. Chinetti as a gift. The car also carries “NART” designation. N.A.R.T. stands for North American Racing Team – Chinetti’s race team that he used to tout the Ferrari marque around America. The engine is a standard 365 GTB 4.4-liter V-12 making 352 horsepower.

The car was acquired by its current owner in 1991. It has never been restored and was refreshed before being brought to auction. Remarkably, it has covered only 1,568 miles in its life (not including when it was a Daytona coupe for five years). As you’ll see next week, this NART Spider is a bargain at $700,000-$1,000,000. That’s even cheap for a 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spider. Click here for more info and here for more from Gooding in California.

Update: Sold $720,000

S/N: 14299

Alfa Romeo Daytona

1968 Alfa Romeo Tipo 33/2 Daytona

Offered by RM Auctions | Monaco | May 11-12, 2012

The Tipo 33/2 was Alfa Romeo’s prototype sports racing car for 1968. This one was a works race car that had at least one victory – finishing first at Imola in 1968 with Nino Vaccarella and Teodoro Zeccoli. The rest of the podium consisted of two other Tipo 33/2’s – a testament to the car’s dominating performance.

The “Daytona” moniker was given to the car after it won the 2-lire class at the 1968 24 Hours of Daytona. Tipo 33/2’s grabbed wins at the Targa Florio and class wins at the 1000km of the Nürburgring and 1000km of Monza.

The competition history of this car  includes:

  • 1968 500km Imola – 1st (with Nino Vacarella & Teodoro Zecolli)
  • 1969 1000km Monza – 10th (with Antonio Zadra & Giuseppe Dalla Torre)
  • 1969 GP Swerige – 12th (with Antonio Zadra)
  • 1969 Sports Neubiberg – 7th (with Klaus Reisch)
  • 1970 Dijon – 14th (with Hubert Ascher)
  • 1970 Sports Neubiberg – 5th (with Klaus Reisch)
  • 1970 Magny Cours International – 3rd (with Klaus Reisch)

This model is stated to be “the most original of its kind” and it looks fantastic – I’m sure it sounds just as good (you can get a brief snippet of engine noise from the very dramatic video of the car that RM has on their website). It has a 270 horsepower 2.0-liter V8 (there were cars with a 315 horsepower 2.5-liter V8).

A total of 28 Tipo 33/2’s were built between 1967 and 1968. Amazingly, there is an even rarer road-car variant – but who needs that when the car offered here is road registered and ready to race… er drive safely on the highway! RM’s pre-sale estimate on this car is €900,000-€1,100,000 or $1,199,970-$1,466,630. For the complete catalog description, click here. And to see the rest of what RM has in store for Monaco, click here.

Update: sold $1,305,360.

Winningest Porsche 962

1984 Porsche 962

Offered by Gooding & Company, Amelia Island, Florida, March 9, 2012

Two days ago we featured the most dominant (for a short period of time) race car ever built. Well here is another candidate for that title. The Porsche 962 was introduced to the racing world in 1984 and won just about everything it dared to enter through the end of the decade, with customer cars and continuation models continuing to be competitive into the mid-1990s.

This particular car (chassis #962-103) is the winningest 962 in history. It was the first 962 to actually win a race (the 1984 6 Hours of Watkins Glen) and then it went on to win many other races including:

  • 1984 Camel GT 500 Grand Prix at Pocono
  • 1984 Eastern Airlines 3 Hour Camel GT at Daytona
  • 1985 300km of Laguna Seca
  • 1985 500km of Charlotte
  • 1985 500km of Mid-Ohio
  • 1985 3 Hours at Watkins Glen
  • 1986 24 Hours of Daytona (driven by Al Holbert, Derek Bell & Al Unser, Jr.)
  • 1986 Road America 500
  • 1987 24 Hours of Daytona (driven by the 1986 team plus Chip Robinson)

This car, known as the Löwenbräu Special, also had a number of other top five finishes including a couple at the 12 Hours of Sebring. It spent its entire career with Holbert Racing and was owned by the Holbert family after it was retired until 2008 when it was acquired by  the Drendel Family, from whose collection this and a number of other fantastic Porsches are being offered at this Gooding sale.

The Porsche 962 features a 3.2 liter twin-turbo flat-6 making somewhere in the neighborhood of 720 horsepower. They are all fast but this one is perhaps the most prominent. It is estimated between $1,750,000-$2,250,000. Click here for more information and pictures and here for more on the Gooding sale.

Update: Sold $1,925,000.