140 Classic& SportsCarDecember 2015
Stoopto avoidthe low roof as you step over
the sill with its pronounced‘Panther’logo,and
the seatingpositionis pure Daytona.It’sonly the
view that’sdifferent.The Veglia instruments,for
example,are familiarbut sited in acentreconsole
and angledever so sligh tly towards the driver.
Burrwalnutfeaturesextensively, to the point
that thereare rathermoreYe Oldegentleman’s
expressreferencepointsthanItaliansupercar
cues.Thatwas intentionalfromthe outset.
Connolly’s finesthidesembracethe seatsand
doorcards,withnon-reflectivesuedecovering
the tops of the doorsand mostof the dashboard.
Sincethe ‘extendedcoupé’was fettled,the
Ferrarihas appearedat a handfulof concours
events,the mostrecentof whichwas SalonPrivé.
Not that there’s anythingto stop you fromdriv-
ing the Daytonain anger. It’s completelystock
mechanically, the 4.4-litrequad-camV12
producing352bhpat 7500rpm.Despitethe
allegedextraweightfromthe conversion,it won’t
havetroublegettingout of its own way. What’s
more,eventhe air-conditioningworks.It mayFromtop:estatebeing
coachbuiltbyPanther’s
artisans;noseislonger
thanstockDaytona,but
notasaccentuatedasin
Chinetti’s renderings
look like ashowqueen, butit is practic al. Almost.
Thiswas the onlyNART Ferraribodied
outsideItaly.Therewouldbe no furthercollabo-
rationsbetweenChinettiand Jankel,although
the latterwasn’t completelydonerearranging
and reimaginingMaranelloproducts.Other
projectsincludeda smallrun of Ferrari 125
‘replicas’(the use of quotationmarksis entirely
apposite), whichwerebuilt at the behestof Swiss
dealerWilly Felberand basedon 330GTC
runninggear. He alsoproduceda raft of
400i-basedconversions,includinga four-door
saloonand,you guessedit, a shootingbrake
underthe Le Marquisbanner.
Whilethe Daytonapicturedhere mightbaffle
as manypeopleas it bewitches, you cannotargue
that it makesmostotherFerraris– mostother
cars,for that matter– look terriblyunimagina-
tive. The passingof 40 yearshasn’t bluntedits
edge,that’s for sure.ThankstoPaulMichaelsandJonathanKaiser:
0207225 3388;www.hexagonclassics.com‘IT MAYLOOKLIKEA
SHOWQUEEN,BUTIT IS
PRACTICAL. ALMOST.
THEAIRCONWORKS!’