1972 Ferrari 246GT Dino | The Summer Serenade Auction | 18th July

• Significant expenditure at DK Engineering in 2021/2022
• Excellent history file
  
• Long-term ownership
  

The Dino, named in honour of Enzo Ferrari’s son, was a brand for V6 engined Ferrari and the project that Alfredo ‘Dino’ Ferrari worked on before he died tragically at just 24 years old. In order to homologate Ferrari’s Formula Two entry in 1966, the FIA requested that 500 production cars were produced using the same V6 unit as the race car. The Fiat Dino was born using the 2.0 litre V6 Ferrari unit which was later used in the early 206GT versions of the Dino. Ferrari used the mid-engined configuration that was working well for them in sportscar racing for the new Dino and the prototype 206S was shown at the 1966 Turin show. The car drew a positive response and Ferrari put the car into production, making it the first mid-engined production Ferrari. A 2.4 litre version on a longer wheelbase, the 246GT, replaced the Dino 206 in late 1969. The beauty of a mid-engined sportscar is the handling, as the improved centre of gravity lends itself to better road holding. A Ferrari Dino has great cornering ability and is an enormously fun car to drive.

First registered on 19^th January 1972, the beautiful 246GT Dino offered here has been a Buckinghamshire resident for over 35 years. The vendor has owned the car himself since 2003, using it sparingly around the local roads of Beaconsfield. The furthest he ever drove it in fact, was to Henley, a mere 40-mile round trip! Complementing the elegant Pininfarina-designed coachwork to striking effect, the car was repainted soon after purchase in 2004 in Ferrari Rosso Corsa. Cherished, the supplied history file is comprehensive, including many receipts, correspondence, old tax discs, photo record CDs and MoT test certificates. Too many to list here, perhaps most pertinent though, are the two most recent invoices, both from world renowned Ferrari specialists DK Engineering. Their first is from October 2021, in which amongst many other bits, the brake calipers were refurbished and the braking system repaired as well as the gearbox being removed and rebuilt, a job which required the engine to be removed. This invoice alone totalled £14,847.43. The final invoice in the file, again from DK Engineering, is from a year later in December of 2022. This invoice carries on from the work they carried out the year before, this time focusing mainly on the suspension, but also includes attention to the exhaust, engine mounts, HT leads and tachometer, this time at a cost of £10,837.65. The car at this point was of course running and driving very well. Sadly though, health issues started to intervene and the car was effectively laid up shortly after, not to move again until the photos were taken for this sale. What could be considered a barn find and covered in a light covering of four years of dust, this pretty little Dino requires recommissioning once more. However, it would be unfair to consider this barn find a full restoration. The car is complete and has been dry stored for the four years it has laid dormant since DK Engineering did so much work to it.

Accompanying the car is its V5 registration document and the aforementioned extensive history file, offering reassuring documentation of its long-term ownership and maintenance. Widely regarded as one of the finest driver's cars of the early 1970s, the Ferrari Dino 246GT combines sublime balance, delicate steering, and an intoxicating V6 soundtrack with one of Pininfarina's most enduringly beautiful designs. Opportunities to acquire such an appealing, well-documented, and eminently re-commissionable example are increasingly scarce. Awaiting sympathetic revival after a relatively brief period of slumber, this captivating Dino is waiting to reward its next owner with one of the most engaging driving experiences of its era. Consigned by Will Penrose