It is now December and given it is year 2020, Christmas is looking rather grim with a semi-lockdown here in Hong Kong and what not. However, being handed the keys to a 1973 Dino 246 GTS has to be one of the best Christmas gifts I have received in my life. I never expected so many generous and trusting owners would hand over the keys to their pride and joy to me without hesitation when I first started this channel – and for that, I am truly grateful.
Anyone with a drop of Ferrari knowledge would know that the Dino GT was the first ever road car made by Ferrari that has the engine at the rear (mid-rear, to be exact) and less than 12-cylinders. I have to say “first car made by Ferrari” instead of “first Ferrari” because the Dino GT was never branded as a Ferrari, ever. It has always been said that the Dino GT was called the Dino (which is the name of Enzo’s son who sadly died of illness back in 1956 at the young age of 24) because it was ‘not worthy’ of the name Ferrari as the engine was at the back and had less than 12-cylinders – both are traits that were different from Enzo’s race cars at the time.
There is, however, a more emotional and beautiful background to the story. Dino was a passionate engineer at Ferrari before his untimely death. He was involved in the development of the V6 engine in Ferrari’s Formula 2 racers. When the Dino road car was being developed some years later, and it was decided that it would house a V6 engine, Enzo decided to name the car Dino, in honour of his beloved son. Ferrari historians have said there are letters at the time from Dino to Enzo about his V6 engine, saying that it was built as a ‘tribute’ to his father’s legendary 12-cylinder engine. So the actual story was hardly the cold ‘unworthy’ version that popular media would have you believe.
Regardless of the badge name, the Dino has always been known as the first baby Ferrari, and was conceived at the time to rival the Porsche 911 which had a 2 litre flat 6 engine at the time. As such, the first Dino GT in 1968 was actually the 206 and not today’s 246. The Dino 206 GT has a 2 litre V6 engine with 180HP and a body that was made in aluminium. There were complaints that the car was underpowered, therefore after only one year of production, Ferrari introduced the Dino 246 GT in 1969 with 2.4 litres and 195HP. Due to the short production period, Ferrari only made 152 Dino 206’s, making them very valuable cars today. Fun fact: all Dino 206’s were made in left hand drive but there is at least one known example that was converted to right hand drive. The one-of-a-kind right hand drive Dino 206 GT actually resides in our very own home – Hong Kong.
The Dino 246 was produced from 1969-1974 and a lot more were made compared to the Dino 206. A total of 3,761 Dino 246’s were made, of which only 1,274 were GTS’ like the one we have today (the GTS version was only introduced in 1972). Unlike the Dino 206, however, the Dino 246 was made in steel to save costs. That means that they were prone to rust and many had major rust issues when their values were low back in the 1990’s. However, prices have since shot up and many examples have thankfully been restored since. Today’s car certainly has no rust as it is in pristine condition and comes with Ferrari’s Classiche certification. Ferrari’s Classiche program helps owners restore their cars to 100% original specification so that it is the same as the day it left the factory. Dependent on the car’s condition, Classiche restoration can be very costly – but any classic Ferrari with the Classiche certification would certainly worth more than one without it.
The Dino is by far the oldest Ferrari I have driven and also one that I was most excited about. First impression – the car looks small but it actually does not feel cramped inside. The interior is as you would expect – everything is beautifully displayed and made in top grade materials. I love the toggle switches which were part of Ferrari interiors for a few generations from the Daytona all the way to the 308 GTB. One shame about my own 328 GTS is that the interior has by that time been upgraded to conventional round plastic buttons instead of the iconic toggle switches.
As I set off in the car I noticed the clutch is not light but certainly not heavy. I would imagine I can handle traffic jams in it easily. Growing up I was always told that old Italian cars have very heavy clutches but so far none of the classics I have reviewed, Italian or otherwise, had a heavy clutch! Either heavy clutches in classic cars are a myth or I just have an extraordinarily strong left leg without knowing it! Maybe someone needs to lend me a BB512 or Countach to review to prove me wrong? Everything else performs as I expected and I was happy to feel quite familiar in the car as a lot of the touches and sensations do resemble my 328 GTS even though it is a lot younger.
Finally, the climax of the drive was certainly the exhaust note. I always knew Dino’s sound great but going through 1st to 5th gear in the driver’s seat with the symphony at my back was a whole different experience! Despite ‘only’ having 6-cylinders, Dino’s always sounded more like its 12-cylinder siblings like the Daytona and 512BB than the carbureted 308. Which is a shame, as I could afford none of the above aside from a carbureted 308 but having driven one before, I regret to say the sound is nothing like the Dino. The 308’s exhaust noise is relatively underwhelming compared to the Dino’s fulsome note.
So not only did Christmas came early for me, I also received one of the best Christmas presents (a drive in a Dino!) in one of the worst years of modern human history. Thanks again to the generous owner for his trust and a big thank you as always to the team for making this video possible!
Alex (http://www.taipanmedia.com)
Dave (Email: david@lemonadeandgiggles.com)
Alex C. (IG: @nofishshark)
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