A Rare 1973 Ferrari Competizione Racer Could Fetch $10M at Auction

Provenance, performance, beauty, and rarity—these are the pillars of any truly collectible car, and few epitomize them better than Ferrari. The 1960s-era 250 GTO and the subsequent 365 GTB/4 Daytona Competizione are prime examples. Now, a 1973 Daytona Competizione Series III is set to add a new steward to its story as it headlines the Gooding Christie’s Pebble Beach Auctions, taking place August 15 and 16 on California’s Monterey Peninsula. 

“The competition Daytona is the last road-registered, factory-built competition Ferrari,” says James Cottingham, managing director and lead acquisition consultant for DK Engineering, a U.K.- based Ferrari specialist. “It’s definitely the end of a chapter of these race cars that private owners could buy and genuinely drive to the track, race them competitively, and then drive them home.” Cottingham would know—his family owns the final example ever built. 

The model’s motorsport pedigree is illustrious. “It won the Tour de France outright in 1972, took first in class at Le Mans from 1972 to 1974—with top-10 finishes overall—and was successfully campaigned at the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring through the late 1970s,” says David Brynan, senior specialist at Gooding Christie’s. 

Nicknamed the Daytona after Ferrari’s podium sweep at the 1967 edition of the race—revenge for its humiliating defeat at Le Mans the year prior, famously dramatized in Ford v Ferrari—the 2,734-pound (dry weight) GTB/4 was one of just 15 Competizione variants ever produced. Built on a tubular steel frame, its berlinetta-style body hides a 4.4-liter V-12—with six Weber carburetors—good for 450 hp and 340 ft lbs of torque, managed by a five-speed manual transmission. Performance upgrades included lightweight body panels, wider wheels, and anti-roll bars—a package enabling a top speed of 192 mph. 

The example on offer is the penultimate Competizione built. Entered by Ferrari’s North American Racing Team (N.A.R.T.) at the 1973 24 Hours of Le Mans, it wore No. 6 and was piloted by Sam Posey and Milt Minter—though it failed to finish. Nevertheless, endurance would become its hallmark: The car went on to start six races at Le Mans and Daytona, including a second-place finish at Daytona in 1979. 

“To find a car that’s done both of those events three times is pretty much unheard of,” Cottingham says. 

While last year’s Monterey Car Week saw softening prices for Maranello’s finest (due in part to a younger buyer base recalibrating the market), this Prancing Horse arrives with renewed momentum. Having completed a comprehensive restoration last year—with an award from the 2024 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance added to its résumé and an ownership history that includes the late actor David Carradine—it will cross the block with a high estimate of $10 million. 

For the discerning collector, the Daytona offers not just provenance but a place in Ferrari’s racing history. 

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Top: This Ferrari 356 GTB/4 Daytona Competizione Series III competed at Le Mans and Daytona a total of six times, contributing to its high estimate of $10 million.