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1968 Ferrari 206 Dino GT

Ferrari built 153 examples of the 206 GT, a minuscule fraction of the total production of 4,067 Dinos. They were a revolutionary vehicle and the first mid-engine V-6 road car offered by Ferrari. Built to help Ferrari meet the FIA-mandated production requirements to homologate its 'Dino' V-6 engine for competition, they were introduced in 1965 at the Paris Motor Show as the Dino Berlinetta Speciale. They were based on a competition 206 SP chassis and its styling would pave the way for the introduction of the road-going version. Series production commenced in June of 1968 and ended in April of 1969 when the 246 GT was introduced.

Formula 2 racing regulations for 1967 mandated production-based engines, with a minimum of 500 built yearly. Ferrari was unable to meet this demand, so they fostered a deal with Fiat to manufacture the engines and install them into new upmarket Fiat Dino models. Fiat would also supply engines for Ferrari's use.

The 206 GT wore aluminum coachwork by Scaglietti and rested on a 2,280mm wheelbase platform. They rode on knock-off Cromodora wheels that distinguished them from its more common brethren, the 246 GT and GTS. Other unique features were the wood-rimmed steering wheel, unique exhaust tips, exterior lighting, special interior appointments, and chrome-plated exposed fuel filler cap. Power was sourced from a 1,987cc, all-alloy V-6 engine with three Weber 40 DCN F/1 carburetors, four main bearings, and delivering 180 horsepower at 8,000 RPM and 138 lb-ft of torque. The suspension was fully independent and braking power was provided by disc brakes all round.

The Dino 206 was the first Ferrari to use electronic ignition, a direct rack-and-pinion steering, a Dinoplex C capacitive discharge ignition system that was developed by Magneti Marelli.

The Dino 246 was produced from 1969 through 1974, with 3,761 created. They had a more powerful 2,419.20cc engine with dual overhead camshafts, 2 valves per cylinder, an iron block with alloy heads, and developed 190 horsepower at 7,600 RPM. The increase in power was offset by the heavier steel body which was used to save cost. Its wheelbase was 2.1-inches longer than the 206 but its height was the same.

Of the 3,761 examples produced, 2,295 of those were GT Coupes and 1,274 were GTS Spyders. The GTS Spyders had a shorter production lifespan and were built after the Series III revision from 1972 to 1974.

by Dan Vaughan

Coupe by Scaglietti
Chassis number: 00126

Ferrari introduced its first mid-engine production car, the Dino Berlinetta Speciale, at the 1965 Paris Motor Show. It was based on a competition 206 SP chassis and fitted with an alloy V-6 engine. The Dino Berlinetta GT prototype was completed in December 1966, followed by series production of the 206 GT beginning in June of 1968. Production ended a year later, in April 1969, when the 246 GT was introduced.

The Ferrari 206 GT is perhaps the rarest of the production Dino model. The 206 GT can be distinguished by its knock-off Cromadora wheels, wood-rimmed steering wheel, chrome-plated locking fuel filler cap, unique exhaust tips, exterior lighting, and special interior appointments. It rested on a wheelbase that measured 2280mm and had an overall weight of less than 2,000 lbs. The 2-liter alloy V-6 engine had three Weber 40 DCN F/1 carburetors and offered 180 horsepower.

Just 153 examples of the Ferrari 206 GT Dino were built, accounting for a small percentage of the total 4,067 Dino models built. It is believed that 25% - 30% of the original production models have been lost over time.

This particular example is the fourteenth 206 GT completed and one of the earliest of the model known to survive. The car was delivered new to official Ferrari dealer Renato Nocentini's Garage La Rotonda in October 1968, and registered in Florence. At the close of 1968, the car had been sold to Gardner DeSpain in Playa del Rey. Since that time, it has never left Southern California.

In 1987, William LeMasters purchased the car from Stanley Bishop. At the time, it was in unrestored condition and had 41,000 km on the odometer. Mr. LeMaster undertook a restoration that lasted from 1994 through 1997.

by Dan Vaughan

Coupe by Scaglietti
Chassis number: 00222
Engine number: 135B.0000004780

The Ferrari Dino was the company's first mid-engine production car. It made its debut in 1965 at the Paris Motor Show, where Pininfarina unveiled the Dino Berlinetta Speciale. Based on a competition 206 SP chassis, the initial Dino Berlinetta GT prototype was completed in December of 1966. In June of 1968, series production of the 206 GT began and ended in April of 1969, when the 246 GT was introduced.

There were several important visual differences between the 206 GT and their more common brethren, including the knock-off Cromodora wheels, wood-rimmed steering wheel, chrome-plated exposed fuel filler cap, unique exhaust tips, exterior lighting, and special interior appointments. They rested on a wheelbase that measured 2280mm and were clothed in aluminum coachwork by Scaglietti. Power came from a two-liter alloy V6 which gave the 2500lb vehicle rather impressive performance.

In total, just 153 examples of the 206 GT were built, which accounts for less than 5-percent of total Dino production. It is estimated that around a quarter of the total production have not survived.

This particular Dino 206 GT was first delivered to the official Ferrari dealer in Florence, Italy: Renato Nocentini's Garage La Rotonda. It left the factory finished in Rosso Chiaro (20-R-190) with black upholstery and trimmed in long-grain vinyl and fabric.

It spent its early years in Milan before being sold in 1976 to Richard LeBlond of Phoenix, Arizona. In the late 1980, Mr. LeBlond disassembled the car with the intention of performing a full restoration. It remained, however, in static storage until 2007, when it was sold to the current owner.

In 2010, a nut-and-bolt restoration was undertaken which lasted for six years. It is currently finished in its original Rosso Chiaro livery.

by Dan Vaughan

Coupe by Scaglietti
Chassis number: 00298

The Dino 206 GT Special sat atop of Pininfarina's stand at the 1965 Paris Salon. It was a design study based on a sports racing model with inline mid-engined placement. It had headlamps covered by a clear Perspex lens that extended the full width of the nose. The shape, however, was essentially that which would evolve in the production Dino 206 GT.

Introduced in 1968, the Dino 206 GT (which was technically not a Ferrari at all and did not have the prancing horse symbols anywhere on the vehicle) was produced for two years with 154 examples built during that time. All were left-hand drive and had aluminum bodies and engines. The 206 GT was followed by the 246 Dino, which had steel coachwork and was available with the wheel on the right.

This Dino 206 GT was delivered at the factory in December of 1968. Its earliest known caretaker was a Monsieur Janievre of France, who was recorded with it in the Dino Registry between 1974 and 1976. The car was purchased by the current caretaker in 1978 and brought to San Diego, California.

The car was given a restoration which began in 1985.

by Dan Vaughan

Coupe by Scaglietti
Chassis number: 00152
Engine number: 135B.0000004342

The Dino 206 GT was built to aid Ferrari in complying with FIA-mandated production requirements to homologate its 'Dino' V-6 engine for competition. It was the first mid-engine V-6 road car offered by Ferrari. At its debut at the 1968 Brussels Motor Show, it created a sensation and Colonel 'Ronnie' Hoare, director of Maranello Concessionaires, Ferrari's main UK agent, predicted strong demand. He placed an order directly with Ferrari S.p.A. for a Dino finished in the same Rosso Dino as the 1968 Brussels Motor Show car and equipped with black upholstery, light gray carpeting, and alloy wheels. Although chassis number 00152 was not available in right-hand drive, Col. Hoare felt it necessary to have a Dino 206 GT in the U.K. market to generate customer traffic. Chassis 00152 was completed in August of 1968 and sent to the U.K. during September of 1968. It was one of just two examples of the Dino 206 Gt originally imported to the United Kingdom.

The first personal owner of 00152 was Edward F. Gates, who acquired it in March of 1969. Mr. Gates traded a 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 and received a credit check for £200 in exchange for the Dino. He drove it to Scotland and a short time later - then showing approximately 12,000 miles - traded it to Maranello Concessionaires for the newer Dino 246 GT.

In May 1970, Maranello Concessionaires sold 00152 to Eric Clapton. Mr. Clapton held the through the summer of 1970, and then sold it following a minor crash. Maranello Concessionaires sold the car on Mr. Clapton's behalf at a desired selling price of £700.

On September 3, 1970, the Dino was purchased for £650 by N.V. Cook, a garage owner in Surrey, with the Ferrari changing hands again in 1977, likely the time when it entered the long-term ownership of the Brown family, who would retain 00152 until May 2006, when Maxwell Rice acquired it.

Mr. Rice treated the car to a complete body-off, nut-and-bolt restoration. It was done to concours-level quality and factory-original specification, with the Dino retaining original components and finished in its original color combination.

The Dino was awarded Ferrari Classiche certification in May of 2016.

by Dan Vaughan

Coupe by Scaglietti

In 1966, Enzo Ferrari decided to offer a small Ferrari that would be independent of his larger twelve-cylinder models and would instead utilize one of the V6 engines that his son Alfredo 'Dino' Ferrari had helped to develop - and he chose to call this car the DIno GT in memory of his son, who had died at the young age of 24. It was Sergio Pininfarina who was largely responsible for the car's mid-engine layout; he designed a special mid-engine prototype for the 1965 Paris Auto Show, and it caused a sensation, pressuring Enzo Ferrari to move forward with a mid-engine car although he had previously disliked them. The successful introduction of Lamborghini's mid-engine P400 Miura added to the pressure, and ultimately Ferrari awarded Pininfarina the contract to develop the 206 GT Dino. This car would serve as the base for the whole family of two-seater mid-engine Ferrari road cars to follow. Ferrari had hoped to sell many 206 GTs, but costs soon put a damper on sales, and only 154 were built, including the four prototypes, before Ferrari shifted to selling the less costly 246 GT.

This 206 GT was restored to its as-new condition and color combination by marque specialist Charles Wegner in 2015.

Coupe by Scaglietti
Chassis number: 00136

This 1968 example is believed to be the 18th of 153 Dino 206 GTs produced. It left Maranello's workshops on August 30th, 1968 and was delivered to Crepaldi Automobili S.a.s. in Milan that same day. The original paint scheme was Rosso Chiaro over Nero vinyl seats with red cloth insert. A few weeks later, the car was sold to its first owner, Italo Musico. The car remained with Mr. Musico for four years before it was sold in 1972 to Captain Don Grigg, an American serviceman stationed in Italy. Mr. Grigg imported the car to the United States and sold it to Charles 'Chuck' Sadek in 1974, who would become the car's caretaker for the next three decades. In 2004, it was sold to Tom Shaughnessy of Oceanside, California, who sold it to Mike Alexander of Newport Beach, CA, that same year. Two years later, it was sold to Frank Saucedo, who sold it back to Mr. Shaughnessy in 2008, who sold it to Jon Gunderson of California.

Mr. Gunderson treated the Dino to a full concours restoration in 2013 that took three years to complete. Dino Restorations of California stripped the car to its bare alloy shell, Dugan Enterprises of Oceanside, California, handled the mechanical sorting, and Speedzone of Santee, California, refinished the car in Grigio Notte Metallizzato before Dino Restorations installed a correct black vinyl interior with blue cloth seat inserts sourced from Italian upholstery shop Luppi.

After the restoration was completed, the car was displayed at the XXVI Palm Beach Cavallino Classic and multiple times at the Concorso Italiano in Monterey, winning second in its class in 2017.

In 2018, the car was sold to Mike Sheehan of Ferraris Online in 2018 who, in turn, sold the car to the current caretaker that same year.

by Dan Vaughan

Coupe by Scaglietti

One of just 150 Dino 206GTs authenticated by Ferrari Classiche certification and which retains its original engine, transmission, alloy bodywork, and chassis. Exquisitely restored by a renowned Ferrari specialist circa 2008 and was finished in period-correct Viola Metallizzato.

The 206 Dino was built by Enzo Ferrari as a tribute to his son who passed away in 1956 at the age of 24 due to kidney disease. Alfredo Ferrari, more commonly known as Dino, was Enzo Ferrari's only son (Alfredo was also Enzo's brother and fathers' name). Afredo had been trained in Switzerland as an engineer, after which he returned to the family business and received tutoring from his father. It was Enzo's dream to one-day hand over the keys to the company to his son. Sadly, that never transpired.

The 206S first debuted in 1965 at the Paris Salon. The Dino Berlinetta GT Prototype was debuted later in 1966 at the Turin Show and again in 1967 at the same show but this time as a production model. The Dino Berlinetta was Ferrari's first transverse-mounted mid-engine vehicle.

The design was done by Pininfarina and built by Scaglietti at the Maranello assembly facility. The body was alloy and the frame was steel.

The Dino 206 did not receive any Ferrari marque. It was void of the signature 'horse' logo, making it never officially a Ferrari. Rather, it was marketed as a separate marque.

The Dino was also built to compete against the Porsche 911. In order to meet the Formula Two racing regulations, over 500 production units had to be made. Ferrari was not capable of producing such numbers. So Ferrari relied on other resources. The engine was supplied by Fiat with half the number of cylinders that Ferrari was accustomed to working with. It was an all-alloy 2-liter, quad-cam, V-6 engine capable of producing between 140 and 180 horsepower. Side vents were located on the car which helped with cooling the engine.

Production continued until the end of 1969.

by Dan Vaughan