The Dino by Ferrari (also called the 206, 246, and 308GT4) was a mid-engined, rear-drive sports car produced from 1968 to 1973. The Dino name was retired by 1976, though the cars remained in production. It was created as an attempt to produce a relatively low cost vehicle by using components from more common vehicles, in much the same way that Porsche did with the 914.

The name "Dino" honors the founder's late son, Alfredino "Dino" Ferrari, who was responsible for the design of the V6 engine. The original versions did not feature any Ferrari badging whatsoever. The factory claimed that this was because Dino Ferrari suggested the concept, and as such the cars should bear his name alone. However, it is commonly thought that Enzo Ferrari wished to distance this car from the traditional Ferrari stalwarts, such as the Daytona, as he did not consider it a 'true' Ferrari.

Many people only think of the V6 cars when using the "Dino" name. Later V8 models, including the 308 GT4 and 308 GTB, were also sold under the Dino marque, but these are sometimes not considered to be members of the Dino family. Both V8 models were given the "Ferrari" name after a short time.

The Dino was the first Ferrari model produced in high numbers: Just over 4,000 V6 Dinos were built in just five years. In 2004, Sports Car International named this car number six on the list of Top Sports Cars of the 1970s.

Origins

The origin of the Dino is in the Ferrari racing cars of the 1950s, which used Dino's V6 and V8 engine designs. In 1967, after Dino's death, Ferrari wished to race in the 1.6 L class of the Formula 2 racing series with Dino's V6. However, the company could not meet the homologation rules which called for 500 production vehicles using the engine. Enzo Ferrari asked Fiat to co-produce a sports car using the engine, and the front-engined, rear-drive Fiat Dino was born. It used a 2.0 L (1987 cc) version of the Dino V6, allowing Ferrari to enter the series.

Dino 206

The next year, Ferrari decided to produce the mid-engined Dino 206. It was to be a new marque for Ferrari, a lower-cost, lower-performance Ferrari vehicle. In practice, the Dino was an excellent sports car with a beautiful Pininfarina body. Some consider this one of the most stylish of Ferrari rear engine automobiles. It has the soft edges and curving lines typical of earlier Italian cars, unlike the later performance cars from Ferrari such as the Bertone designed 308 which has the straighter lines and crisp edges seen most boldly in Bertone's Fiat X1/9.

Dino 246

Calls for more power were answered with the 2.4 L (2418 cc) Dino 246. It used an iron version of the engine with 195 hp and was available as a fixed-top GT coupe or, after 1971, an open targa GTS.

Dino 308 GT4

Bertone-bodied Dino 308 GT4

The less attractive Bertone-styled 2+2 308 GT4 also wore the Dino badge. This model is covered in more detail on the Ferrari GT4 page.

External Links

• Dino Register (http://www.dinoregister.com/production.html)