1973 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS

The Ferrari Dino was built to honour Alfredo 'Dino' Ferrari who died of muscular dystrophy in 1956. He was the only legitimate son of 'Il Commendatore', and unlike any previous road-going Ferrari, the Dino utilised a V6 engine ( Tipo 156) which Alfredo himself had developed and advocated during his lifetime.

Enzo Ferrari vehemently answered his critics when he said: "For reasons of mechanical efficiency he finally came to the conclusion that the engine should be a V6 and we accept his decision." The acceptance of this decision resulted in a legacy of motor sport orientated derivatives from Formula One through to various famous sports car racing applications. Following this continued success on the track and in order to homologate Ferrari's 1966 Formula Two campaign, a new line of mid-engined production V6 coupés with Fiat running gear went on sale in 1967 in two-litre form. However, in 1969 a larger 2.4 litre Dino was introduced, named the 246 GT or GTS in the case of the Spider.

Only 3,913 definitive Dinos were built in total with 1,274 in GTS form and only 235 of them in right-hand drive, before the introduction of the completely restyled V8 engined 308 in 1975. The voluptuous bodywork, which many people regard as 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 for both a comfortable cockpit and some usable boot space.

We are pleased to offer this rare and original, UK right-hand drive 246 GTS which was built in November 1972 and delivered new on 23rd January 1973 to Maranello Concessionaires Ltd, Surrey. The first owner of chassis 05338 was a Mr I. Anthony of Bury, Lancashire, and the car was finished in Rosso Rubino with a black leather interior. A copy of a letter in the file shows an invoice for £5,341.35 for the car when it was new.

The car was then sold again before, in 1978, it was acquired by a Mr P. M. Whitaker of Skipton, North Yorkshire. Interestingly, Mr Whitaker was one of the directors of a company called Chicken Cabins Ltd, credited with being Britain's first franchisee for Kentucky Fried Chicken. As a result, the car was registered under the company name, which appears on a copy of an old registration document. During his ownership, Mr Whitaker had the car maintained by Huddersfield Garages, a Ferrari distributor, and latterly by classic car specialist, Lessian Motors in Ilkley, West Yorkshire. In 2005, Mr Whitaker registered chassis 05338 under his own name at his home address. After 37 years of ownership, Mr Whitaker sold this beautiful 246 GTS to another collector, and it was from him that our vendor purchased the car.

This much cherished 246 GTS oozes originality and is supplied with a UK V5c and an MOT certificate until 2nd June 2017. The accompanying thick history file documents correspondence during Mr Whitaker's long-term ownership, invoices and previous MOT's. Having covered only 49,303 miles, this rare 246 GTS is one of only 235 right-hand drive Spiders built and presents an exciting opportunity to own a superb example of this jewel-like little Ferrari.