1972 Ferrari Dino 246 GT

The Ferrari Dino was built to honour Alfredo 'Dino' Ferrari, the only legitimate son of Il Commendatore, who died of muscular dystrophy in 1956. Unlike any Ferrari before it the Dino utilised a V6 engine, the Tipo 156, which Alfredo had developed and advocated during his life. Following continued success on the track and in order to homologate Ferrari's 1966 Formula Two campaign, a new line of mid-engined production V6 Coupes with Fiat running gear went on sale in 1967 in two litre form. However, in 1969 a lager 2.4 litre Dino was introduced, named the 246 GT or GTS for the Spider.

Only 4,000 definitive Dinos were built before the introduction of the completely restyled V8 engined 308 in 1973. The voluptuous bodywork, which to many people is the prettiest ever to grace a road going Ferrari, was designed by Pininfarina and built by Scaglietti. It covered a tubular chassis which carried wishbone independent suspension at each corner. The compact four-cam engine, which delivered 190bhp, was mounted transversely above the five-speed gearbox and just ahead of the rear axle, allowing both a comfortable cockpit and usable boot space.

The fine example offered here today is a lefthand drive variant of the breed in emblematic Rosso Corsa coachwork with Nero leather interior, customary alcantara top-roll and dashboard, plus Nardi wooden steering wheel and all presented in great condition.

This theme continues to the engine bay which is in excellent condition befitting a car of just 15,000 kilometres as suggested by this car and believed genuine by this cataloguer. The engine, believed maintained in Italy by expert Sergio Rossi of Torino, fires to life at the first turn of the key, reaches water temperature and oil pressure in a timely fashion and engages gears smoothly and accurately.

The body was restored by Bachelle Evita Modena in an unknown period prior to our vendor's ownership which began in 2002. Regrettably, despite the car being purchased through a European motor dealer, the promised history file never materialised meaning this car is accompanied by a handful of invoices and receipts for light works in current ownership and photocopies of a previous Italian log book.

In our opinion this is a fine example of the iconic Ferrari brand and one you should be proud to own, particularly at today's fair guide price. The only criticism we can levy to this car is in respect of a reaction to the magnesium Cromodora wheels, mild in places, more severe in others which prospective buyer's should be aware of. Refurbishment or replacement are both possible.

Sold with EU Log book (Ireland) and some accompanying documentation this benchmark Ferrari is priced sensibly to sell.