A Ferrari By Any Other Name

            In 1967 Enzo Ferrari wanted to try to conquer new territories. His competitive juices were flowing and were aimed squarely at Germany and Porsche. Enzo wanted to compete in the Formula Two races. What that meant was that the engines had to be “production” models and not the super models used in Formula One.

            At the time, Ferrari was committed to supply engines to Fiat for a joint venture car. These were not your typical Ferrari V-12 growlers but rather six cylinder models that, legend has it, Enzo’s ailing son, Alfredo “Dino” Ferrari designed partly from his hospital bed where he suffered from muscular dystrophy. Dino passed away before the Fiat Dino that would bear his name was released.

            Two things spurred the creation of the first actual Dino branded car. First, in order to race in Formula 2 the homologation rules called for a minimum of 500 production cars to be released. That meant that in order to officially enter these races there needed to be 500 production V 6 cars built and available for consumers.

            The second unique aspect of this new “nearly” Ferrari model was the fact that, against Enzo’s initial objections, the car featured a mid-engine placement. For years Porsche had had considerable success by putting their engine in the rear, directly over the drive train. Then, Italian rival Lamborghini introduced the mid-engine Miura in the mid-60s to huge acclaim. For Enzo it was bad enough he was competing with Porsche on the race track but now he was competing in the show room with an Italian upstart.

            Sergio Ferina, son of the legendary Batista “Pinin” Farina of the Carrozzoria Pininfarina design fame, showed Enzo a design for a dual overhead cam mid-engine V 6 which was mounted longitudinally behind pushed forward cockpit clothed in a sleek, flowing body. It was unveiled at the 1965 Paris Auto Show. A year later at Turin, the Dino 206S was shown that featured a transverse mounted engine. It wore the Dino badge because Enzo didn’t want any car to bear his name that didn’t have the line’s legendary V 12 engine.

            When it went on sale as the Dino 206 GT in 1967, it sported a 2.0 liter engine that could produce a top end of 146 mph while using its very even weight distribution for immaculate handling.

            Despite its performance pluses, a call immediately went out for more power and Ferrari answered it at the beginning of the 1970s by dropping a 2.4 liter engine into a slightly longer and heavier car. With the help of some timing changes and the use of three Weber carburetors, the Dino was churning 175 horses with amazing road hugging ease.

            Initially only a GT coup, in 1972 the GTS spyder or convertible version was delivered. The 246 line was an instant hit in the US, especially the GTS, despite it not being the most comfortable car to drive due to the cramped, and noisy, cockpit.

            But the beauty of the design was evident from the beginning and its obvious looking back at how many manufacturers throughout the 70s and even into the 80s “borrowed” heavily from Pininfarnina’s body work.  In fact, in 2004, Sports Car International magazine placed it at number six on its list of Top Sports Cars of the 1970s, a list headed by the Ferrari Daytona. This ranking placed the Dino 246 two slots higher than rival Porsche’s 911 Carrera RS.  It is even classic by Ferrari standards, being listed as the seventh greatest Ferrari of all time by Motor Trend Classic.

            The last of the 246 Dinos were released in 1974, being phased out with the introduction of the totally re-designed Dino 308 in 1973. This car, powered by a 3.0 liter V 8 was initially badged a Dino but in 1976 the company dropped the charade and officially called it a Ferrari. Perhaps it was the popularity of this car, with its Bertone wedge shaped design and appearance as the car driven by Tom Selleck’s character in the hit T.V. show Magnum P.I.

            While this later model became the unofficial “face” of Ferrari because of the success of the television show, it was the earlier Dino 246 GT and GTS that introduced the world to a whole new level of beauty and V 6 performance.