Legacy Metrics

1971 Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spider

14779roadItaly
Engine
4.4L V12 DOHC
Colour
Argento Metallizzato (metallic silver) over black interior

Chassis 14779 is the 31st of just 121 Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spiders built, completed in December 1971 and dispatched through Luigi Chinetti Motors the following June. One of only 14 examples finished in Argento Metallizzato over a Nero interior, it retains its original colour combination along with matching-numbers engine and gearbox. Its history includes ownership by Hollywood director Sydney Pollack, a cross-border theft episode in Mexico, and a show-quality restoration resulting in an FCA Platinum Award at the 2007 Concorso Arizona.

Ownership

  1. Auction sale
    Estimate US$2,400,000 – US$2,800,000

    RM Sotheby's catalogue lot →

  2. 1972 → 1972Private sale
    Carl A. Haas Automobile Imports
    partial documentation

    Highland Park, Illinois dealership that briefly held the car before it was sold to its first private owner.

  3. 1972 → 1975Private sale
    H.J. Hoff
    partial documentation

    Enthusiast based in Norfolk, Virginia; the car was displayed in the paddock at Road America during a Trans-Am event while in his ownership.

  4. 1972-06-01 → 1972Factory delivery
    Luigi Chinetti Motors
    partial documentation

    Served as the US distributor, receiving the car from the factory and channeling it to Carl A. Haas Automobile Imports in Highland Park, Illinois.

  5. 1975 → 1979Private sale
    Sydney Pollack
    partial documentation

    Celebrated Hollywood filmmaker, winner of Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director; kept the car for approximately four years.

  6. 1979 → 1981Private sale
    Alberto Amezcua
    partial documentation

    Mexico City resident who reportedly avoided import duties by having a Texas tourist drive the car across the border; lost possession of the car in 1981 under coerced circumstances involving a local pawnshop operator with political connections.

  7. 1981 → 1983Acquisition unknown
    Unknown possessor following coerced title transfer
    none documentation

    Car was effectively taken from Amezcua through coercion; its whereabouts between 1981 and early 1983 are unspecified before it surfaced at a California restoration shop.

  8. 1984 → 1986Private sale
    Ed Zamarelli
    partial documentation

    Ohio-based collector who bought the car in good faith; advertised it for sale around 1986 showing approximately 34,000 miles, at which point Amezcua pursued legal action and recovered the vehicle.

  9. 1986 → 1997Acquisition unknown
    Alberto Amezcua
    partial documentation

    Regained ownership through a successful lawsuit; repainted the bodywork black and presented the car at two concours events during this period before eventually selling after at least ten years of renewed ownership.

  10. 1997 → 1999Acquisition unknown
    Three California-based collectors
    none documentation

    The car passed through three separate California collections across roughly two years prior to the 1999 Florida sale.

  11. 1999 → 2004Private sale
    Ron Bridges
    partial documentation

    Longwood, Florida collector who commissioned a show-quality restoration by Vantage Motor Works, including a respray in the original factory silver metallic color.

  12. 2004 → 2005Private sale
    David Nagle
    partial documentation

    Oakland Park, Florida owner; odometer read approximately 39,306 miles when he offered the car for sale a year after purchase, reflecting minimal use.

  13. 2006 → 2008Private sale
    Gordon Apker
    partial documentation

    Noted Scottsdale, Arizona collector who presented the car at the 2007 Concorso Arizona, earning an FCA Platinum Award.

  14. 2008 → 2009Private sale
    Chris Cox
    partial documentation

    Chapel Hill, North Carolina owner who held the car briefly before it was acquired by a New Jersey collector.

  15. 2009 → 2011Private sale
    Steve Adler
    partial documentation

    Esteemed collector from New Vernon, New Jersey who engaged the award-winning firm Automotive Restorations to carry out further restoration work, including bringing the interior to concours-level condition.

  16. 2011 →Private sale
    Haines 'Chip' Marshall
    partial documentation

    Broussard, Louisiana owner; the car was reportedly kept within a Texas-based collection and maintained there through at least early 2020.

Competition

  1. 1972Trans-Am Series
    Road America Trans-Am paddock display

    Car was shown in the paddock area at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin during a Trans-Am race; not a competitive entry but a display appearance.

  2. 1993
    1993 FCA Vintage Ferrari Concours d'Elegance

    Presented by Amezcua at Quail Lodge; car was at that time finished in black rather than its original silver.

  3. 1996
    1996 Vintage Ferrari Concours d'Elegance

    Shown in conjunction with Concorso Italiano; still under Amezcua's ownership at this time.

  4. 2007
    2007 Concorso Arizona
    FCA Platinum Award

    Entered by Gordon Apker following the Vantage Motor Works restoration; earned a top-level FCA award.

Maintenance & restoration

  1. 1983Repair
    European Auto Restoration

    The car was submitted for unspecified repair work after reappearing in the United States.

    Work carried out in Costa Mesa, California in spring 1983, following the car's return from Mexico.

  2. 1999Restoration
    Vantage Motor Works

    Comprehensive show-quality restoration commissioned by Ron Bridges, including a full repaint in the original factory colour, Argento Metallizzato.

  3. 2009Restoration
    Automotive Restorations

    Further restoration work carried out including reconditioning of the interior to concours-level standards.

    Commissioned by Steve Adler; the workshop is Steve Babinsky's Pebble Beach award-winning firm.

  4. Bodywork

    Exterior coachwork refinished in black during Amezcua's second period of ownership.

    Departed from the factory-original Argento Metallizzato finish; reversed by a later restoration.

  5. Service

    Pre-sale preparation including a compression and leak-down test plus fitment of a new exhaust system.

    New Ansa exhaust system installed; work carried out in advance of the current auction offering.

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Each chassis record is compiled from public auction archives and links to its source material. Ownership, competition and maintenance entries are extracted from those catalogue listings by an LLM, which can make mistakes — please contact us with any corrections. The summary is Legacy Metrics’ own writing; we do not reproduce catalogue text.

“Full” and “partial” documentation labels indicate how well each entry is corroborated in the underlying sources, not an audit of the car’s physical paperwork. Names of recent or living owners are withheld for privacy.