Ferrari's original 1960s baby has
become a high-value mainstay on every collector's wish list. What's the fate of
its arguably better but more angular 1970s successor? Octane investigates
The first run on the investment classic car
market came to a sudden end following the Wall Street stock market crash in
October 1987. The collector car boom, which crashed two years later in 1989,
was led by speculators, and Ferrari - the most highly sought after marque was
at the forefront of this ignominious fall in values, with million-dollar
Daytonas reduced to around $100,000.
But in the intervening years, the classic
car market has staged a recovery and once again collector cars are trading for
ever higher prices as valueless cash is being invested in safe tangibles...
such as Ferraris.
Classical
meets modernist: Dino 246GT is all curves and dainty chrome detailing which
Bertone's 308GT4 eschews
But there are Ferraris, and then there are
Ferraris, as with the two Dinos you see here. One is valued at about 30 grand
and the other nearer a quarter of a million!
Interestingly, just prior to the 1989
market peak, neither the ‘affordable’ Dino 246GT nor the 308GT4 were perceived
as being top-flight collector Ferraris. In fact 246GT values peaked at about
$135,000 then slumped back to half that after the crash. The 308GT4 was not
even rated. These Ferraris were badged Dino (the 308GT4 receiving a proper
Ferrari badge after 1976) and, with their V6 and V8 engines, were not regarded
as proper Maranello muscle. Those had stonking great V12s up front!
Dino
246GT - This "chairs and flares" Dino is especially collectable; like
all its ilk, it's powered by a quad-cam V6
But markets and fashions shift. While the
308GT4 remains priced as a nice classic car, Dino 246GT and targa-topped GTS
values have gone ballistic and a 246 is now one of the fastest-appreciating
classic cars there is. Collectors today rate the Dino 246 as one of Ferrari’s
best; consequently prices are galloping onwards and upwards.
And the 308GT4? The ugly duckling continues
to languish at the bottom end of classic Ferrari valuation and there does not
seem to be any reason why its value might increase significantly in the
foreseeable future.
Collectors
today rate the Dino 246 as one of Ferrari’s best; consequently prices are
galloping onwards and upwards.
Yet only 30 years ago the 246 was regarded
as a cute piece of shrapnel in a similar vein...
Sergio Pininfarina was commissioned to
build a 'Dino' concept car for Ferrari, which was first seen at the 1965 Paris
motor show. This concept was further refined and shown at the Turin motor show
a year later as the Dino 206GT. Production of the Dino began in 1968, Ferrari's
first relatively low-cost sports car. The Dino used Ferrari's competition car
naming designation of displacement and cylinder count, ie 2.0-liter
six-cylinder.
The 'Dino' label was in honor of Enzo
Ferrari's son Alfredo 'Dino' Ferrari, who died tragically young in 1956.
Reports on his involvement with actual Ferrari engineering projects vary,
though he was reputedly a gifted engineer.
In total some 2732 Dino 206/246GTs were
manufactured plus 1180 GTS versions, the highest production number of any
Ferrari model to that date, which moved the company up to another level. No
longer just a specialist manufacturer of racing cars and expensive sports cars,
Ferrari had joined the big time.
Fiat took control in 1969, which allowed
Enzo to concentrate on racing. The Dino name was used on the Fiat Dino Spider
and Fiat Dino Coupe, further broadening the brand.
Fiat
took control in 1969, which allowed Enzo to concentrate on racing.
No doubt Ferrari had observed how well
Porsche was doing with its 911 and pitched the $8250 Dino directly into this
affordable sports car market. Just 157 all-aluminum 206GT examples were
manufactured in 1968 and '69 before the bigger-displacement, all-steel 246GT
arrived. This upped the power from 160bhp at a heady 8000rpm to 195bhp at a
still revvy 7500rpm, but with 30ft lb more torque. With 0-60mph in seven
seconds and a top speed of 143mph, it was faster than the equivalent 911 and
not that much more expensive.
Although 246s were produced in high numbers
for a Ferrari, they were some of the most beautiful and accomplished sports
cars from Maranello. Today, Ferrari aficionados will want a perfect Dino in
their collection as it is a Pininfarina masterpiece and a great drive. The 1973
246GT you see here, finished in fetching Giallo Fly, belongs to Leoma Allawi
and is now a very desirable example.
And as with anything collectable, there are
certain specific types that are especially sought after. Tony Willis, Ferrari
consultant and the man who looks after Ferrari Classiche UK, suggests that with
Dinos, 'the absolute choice model is the all-aluminum, outside filler cap
206GT, in the same way that a flat-floor E-type is the most coveted Jaguar
model. This is the purist's choice.'
And
as with anything collectable, there are certain specific types that are
especially sought after.
But the driver's choice is this one: the
2.4-litre 'chairs and flares' car. Ferrari produced a limited run of Dinos with
wider 7.5in sand- cast Campagnolo alloy wheels and flared wings to accommodate
them. Inside they received Ferrari Daytona seat inserts, and the example
photographed here is one of only 12 right-hand drive 246GTs of that ilk. A
further five were imported into the UK according to Willis, who also manages
the Maranello Concessionaires Archive.
'Some don't entirely appreciate the flares/
say Willis, 'suggesting they spoil the Dino's original purity of line.' But the
chunky alloys add real presence and those seats raise the game in the cockpit.
The bottom line is that they are far more valuable than a regular Dino.
'Last year a beautiful "chairs and
flares" Dino sold for around $375,000,' says Willis, 'and I know of a
number that went for around $337,500, all perfectly restored cars. It had been
difficult to find the original plastic trim material so an original interior is
really prized. But the black and beige plastic is becoming available again and
some cars were ordered with the leather option from new. In the UK, the open
GTS models are slightly more sought- after than the GT but many regard the GT
as the nicer car,' he adds.
In
the UK, the open GTS models are slightly more sought- after than the GT but
many regard the GT as the nicer car,' he adds.
Nice is an understatement. The Dino is
pure, curvaceous automotive seduction as only Pininfarina can manage. The low
and lithe shape suggests responsiveness and precision but without recourse to
sharp and brutal straight lines or functionalism.
The Dino is an exquisite-looking sports
car, now regarded as one of Ferrari's best ever. Interestingly, though created
in the 1960s, the Dino is bang-on modern sports car thinking and design. The
age of lumbering unwieldy sports cars is over, with all manufacturers going for
light weight and manageable size. Ferrari's own 458 Italia has been on a diet,
the new 911 is lighter than the previous model, and the McLaren MP4-12C is the
future.
