1975 Autokraft Spyder V12 Tribute

The Recreation Collection was assembled by a gentleman, now deceased, who had a passion for cars, owning at one stage some 38 vehicles. A particular enthusiasm of his was for replicas of the rarest and therefore most expensive examples. Judging by the receipts on file and the high prices paid in period, he could’ve bought at least one real example for the price he paid for the others! These are special cars and worthy of serious consideration, offered, tantalisingly as they are, without Reserve.

Only 122 Ferrari Daytona 365 GTS/4 Spyders were built originally and they very rarely come to market, but when they do the numbers are rather serious. Even recreations of this timeless classic are hard to come by. When the Florida-based TV police drama Miami Vice was broadcast in 1984, it featured a realistic replica Daytona.

E.G. Autokraft/PKA/Arrow was the work of Emilio Garcia and Peter Jacobs. Emilio hailed from Spain where he achieved some success preparing race cars locally. He then came to the UK and worked in coachbuilding and restoration before moving on to race preparation for Bell and Colvill. He eventually opened his own workshop and worked on many prestigious cars including Ferraris. Obtaining spare parts for these was always difficult so he started to manufacture his own replica parts which inevitably led to the idea of producing a whole car, but what? Having helped lots of Ferrari owners 'convert' their beautiful Berlinettas into Spyders, he decided to create the best Daytona Spyder copy he could and he turned to Peter Jacobs to make the bodies.

The outside of their project car was naturally going to be an inch-perfect copy of the Daytona Spyder, however the chassis had yet to be designed. They eventually settled on a multi-tubular framework similar to the original that was able to accept V12 or straight-six engines from Jaguar or Daimler. The floorplan was bonded to the chassis and the outer panels were originally available in GRP. Jaguar mechanicals, engine, gearbox, drive train, brakes and suspension were chosen as parts and service items were readily available.

This car, like most of Autokraft’s recreations, started life as a 1975 Jaguar XJ 5.3 V12 Saloon, the fibreglass body and mohair hood carefully fitted. The interior is a charming mix of period leather, aluminium dashboard and original details with the Borg Warner automatic gear box from the Jaguar mounted centrally for comfortable cruising. The current odometer reading is 71,378 miles and the history file contains the V5C, numerous historical documentation, past bills and a fresh MOT will be issued for the sale.