1970 Ferrari Dino 246 GT

The 'Dino' sports car was named in honor of Enzo Ferrari's late son Alfredino, and was inspired by Ferrari's V-6 racing-engine development program of the 1950s and 1960s. The Vittorio Jano-engineered 'Dino' V-6 powered Ferrari to its first Grand Prix Manufacturer's Championship and team driver Mike Hawthorn to the driver's title in 1958.

With the upcoming 1960 Formula 2 season and the 1.5-liter Formula 1 displacement limit announced for 1961, Enzo Ferrari tasked his technical director Carlo Chiti with updating the 'Dino' V-6 engine and placing it in a new car with the engine mounted behind the driver. The resulting 156 'Sharknose' driven by American Phil Hill clinched the 1961 Manufacturer's and Driver's championship for Ferrari and Hill at Monza.

The 'Dino' V-6 design had proven competitive in Formula 2, however revisions to FISA (Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile) Formula 2 rules required a production-based engine and a 500-unit homologation requirement to compete beginning in 1967. Since Ferrari was a low-volume manufacturer and lacked the production capacity to meet this limit, they initially courted Ford (ultimately leading to the infamous 'Ford versus Ferrari' rivalry) before settling with the Italian industrial giant FIAT. FIAT produced the Ferrari-designed 2.0-liter, V-6 engine which powered FIAT's Pininfarina-built Dino Spyder debuting for 1966 and the Bertone-bodied Dino coupe from 1967.

Ferrari's V-6 line of road cars was an evolution of Pininfarina's 'Dino 206 S Speciale,' a styling exercise first shown at the 1965 Paris Salon. At Turin the following year, the 'Dino Berlinetta GT' first appeared, powered by a transverse mid-mounted V-6 engine and clothed with a Pininfarina-designed body built by Scaglietti. The first production Dino, designated 206 GT (denoting 2.0 litres of engine displacement and six cylinders) debuted in Turin in 1967, and was the first mid-engine production car by Ferrari and the start of the new Ferrari-based 'Dino' brand. In total, 150 examples were produced.

The 246 GT arrived in 1969, with the new model officially launched at the November Turin Salon that year, although production had already begun by then. The outward appearance was nearly identical to the prior 206 GT, except that the fuel filler car was now located under a flush-fitting flat on the car's left sail panel. The wheelbase and overall length increased slightly, allowing movement of the rear bulkhead further aft yielding additional interior room. Steel was now used for the main body panels and the engine block, replacing the prior aluminum components.

The enlarged 2,418cc engine resulted in a boost of power by 35 horsepower, giving the 246 GT a 140-plus mph top speed. Zero-to-sixty mph was accomplished in the seven-second range. By the time production ceased in 1974, nearly 2,500 examples were built along three series marked by a number of changes including 'L' for Lungo (Long Wheelbase), 'M' for Modificato (Modified Chassis), and 'E' for Evoluzione.

At the March 1972 Geneva Salon, Ferrari introduced the 246 GTS with its black-finished removable roof panel and the elimination of the 246 GT Berlinetta's rear quarter windows. Production of the 246 GTS, part of the Series 'E' or Evoluzione run, was built through July 1974 with 1,274 produced. It incorporated all updates applied to the prior 'M' Series, with further modifications to the five-speed gearbox and engine. Detail changes included the relocation of the door locks, wider quarter-bumpers, windshield-wiper parking on left-hand drive cars, chrome-plated rectangular license-plate frame at the rear, and a switch to circular frontal cooling ducts.

The US-market 246 GT appeared near the end of 1971, followed by the 246 GTS with both models equipped with DOT-compliant front-signal and side-marker lamps.

The Dino was not as fast in a straight line as its larger V-12 engined stablemate, however, its small footprint, nimble handling characteristics, and lightweight construction made it a formidable competitor on the twisty circuits. A Ferrari 246 GT did contest the 24 Hours of LeMans in 1972. The highly modified example, based on chassis 02678, was entered by Luigi Chinetti's North American Racing Team (N.A.R.T.) and piloted by Gilles Doncieux, Pierre Laffeach, and Yves Forestier to a 17th overall and 7th in the Index of Performance.

by Daniel Vaughan | Apr 2020