Few bodystyles could be more quintessentially Ferrari than a roadster with a V12… right? Only here’s the thing: Ferrari doesn’t often make those, and when it does, it only makes them in limited quantities. That leaves examples like this one, headed soon for the auction block, as highly sought-after commodities among collectors.

Though popular in the 1950s and ’60s, the drop-top, twelve-cylinder Prancing Horse became a rare item starting in the ’70s with the launch of the famously angular Daytona.

Of the 1,406 Daytonas estimated to have been made, only 122 left the factory in Maranello with fabric roof mechanisms. Many more coupes were converted afterwards, undoubtedly thanks in no small part to its prominent role in the original Miami Vice (the production of which actually used Corvette-based replicas).

Seeing one of these original factory Spiders come up for auction, then, is something of a rare opportunity, and this particular example looks like a real cherry. Chassis number 16801 recently underwent a thorough restoration, and is estimated to sell for €1.7-2.2 million at RM Sotheby’s Rétromobile sale in Paris early this coming February.

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