AutoTrader Find of the Week: 1973 Ferrari Dino 246 GT is Art, History

Some contend that a Dino is not a “real Ferrari.”

True, the Ferrari logo does not feature anywhere on the bodywork of a 246 or 308 GT. You won’t find a prancing horse on the hood, trunk, steering wheel, or centre wheel caps. It’s not even stamped on the engine.

In fact, the only readily visible prancing horse is found on the VIN plate in the door jamb, which clearly denotes it as a Ferrari model manufactured by Ferrari (so tell your dumb uncle he doesn’t know what he’s talking about at your next family get-together).

It is reported that Enzo Ferrari once made an offhand comment about how a “real Ferrari has a V12,” which is ridiculous considering how many V6 and V8 race cars Ferrari had made up to that point. But the great Commendatore is also often cited as saying that mid-engine cars were ridiculous, aerodynamics were for people who couldn’t build engines, and that Ford didn’t have what it takes to win at Le Mans.

What’s more important about the Dino is that Enzo Ferrari named these cars after his deceased son. That’s not something anyone with a soul would do flippantly, and certainly not for a product they didn’t care about or believe in. The Dino logo is the actual signature of Enzo’s son, Alfredo “Dino” Ferrari.

Even if all that heritage and history doesn’t sway you, there is still no denying that a Dino 246 GT — like this eye-wateringly perfect 1973 model for sale right now on AutoTrader through Ferrari of Vancouver — is not only one of the most strikingly beautiful cars ever made, it may very well be the most significant road car Ferrari ever produced.

Most Dino haters will quickly point out that the reason there isn’t a prancing horse on the 246 GT is because it is powered by a Fiat V6 and not a true Ferrari engine. Well, that’s only sort of half true. The Dino engine is not stamped “Ferrari,” but it’s also not stamped “Fiat” either. A Dino is a Dino.

Ferrari produced its first V6 engine in the 1950s in order to compete in Formula Two. That engine was nicknamed the Dino — again, after Enzo’s son, himself an engineer who lobbied the company to build a V6 for racing.

While Dino passed away before the engine was completed, it was the 60-degree 1.5-litre V6 that would become the very first powerplant ever used in a mid-engined Ferrari race car. The engine remained in production for a decade until a rule change mandated that Ferrari had to build 500 roadgoing versions of the racing engine within 12 months.

Five hundred units for Ferrari in the mid-1960s was a very steep order, but not for Fiat, which was more than happy to have Ferrari’s pedigree lent to its road cars. And so the new Dino V6 would be co-developed between the two Italian automakers. Fiat launched its own separate Dino model (yes, a Fiat Dino exists and is another reason the uninitiated sometimes proclaim that no Dino is a “real Ferrari”), while Ferrari’s road car division saw a potential solution to fight back against its newest competitor, Lamborghini, and its radical mid-engine Miura.

Pininfarina got involved to pitch Enzo on road-car concepts heavily inspired by the race car division. And after much fussing and re-engineering to mount the engine and transmission transversely (because Lamborghini should not be allowed to outdo Ferrari in anything, even questionably engineered layouts), Enzo approved the new entry-level sports car — its first mid-engine road car — the Dino 206 GT, which did indeed proudly feature a prancing horse on the rear.

It had a tube frame, five-speed manual transmission, rack-and-pinion steering, double-wishbone suspension at all four corners, and four-wheel disc brakes. All in all, it was a massive and significant leap in road-car technology and performance, and it set a template for what we expect from super sports cars today — perhaps not least because it had a usable trunk and actual cargo space, thanks to that transaxle (now 65-degree) V6.

However, the 206 did have some trouble competing with Porsche’s new 911 S, and so the aluminum 2.0-litre 180-horsepower V6 was promptly upgraded to an iron 2.4-litre DOHC unit with triple Weber carburetors, bumping output to 195 horsepower. With the addition of a wider overall track for even more robust suspension, the new Dino 246 GT hit 100 km/h in under seven seconds, broke magazine records for skidpad grip (setting numbers that would hold up today), and could sit comfortably at 145 mph.

And in 1975, two guys drove a white one from New York to Los Angeles in under 36 hours in some Cannonball race thing, and the car became an instant icon.

The point is, you can say a Dino 246 GT isn’t a “real Ferrari” if you want to. But the truth is it is as integral and significant to the history of Ferrari as any road car you could point to.

But what about this particular 246 GT’s history?

Completed on Sept. 17, 1973, and painted Rosso Chiaro over tan leather, chassis No. 06108 was originally delivered to a San Diego Ferrari dealer, Midway International Limited, before being leased by a local doctor for three years. It would remain in Southern California until 2017, exchanging hands three more times over the years.

In 2017, this Dino 246 GT won a People’s Choice award while on display at the Ferrari 70th Anniversary celebration at Pebble Beach (how’s that for “not a real Ferrari”?).

After that, the car was exported to Germany for five years before returning once again to California.

At some point under previous ownership, the car received a repaint during a refurbishment by Enzo Motors Ltd. in Anaheim, Calif.

But fear not, Ferrari purists. It wears the original, correct paint code. The engine and transmission have the correct matching numbers. And Ferrari of Vancouver has all the documentation you would want to see before parting with your US$700,000.

(Actually, they’re asking US$700,195, but you know, you could probably talk them down to $700,000 …)

Which, yes, could buy you several new Ferraris — or, you know, a nice condo or something. But if you buy this car, you’re getting more than just four wheels, a seat, and a prancing horse badge. You’re getting a gorgeous, timeless piece of art — and a real piece of Ferrari’s history.

It’s not just a car. It’s a story.