Lot details
Registration No: KBB 69L
Chassis No: 04454
Mot Expiry: April 2011

The Dino brand was born of Enzo Ferrari's desire to produce an affordable sports car to compete with the likes of Porsche's 911. It was reserved for models powered by engines of less than 12 cylinders and employed for certain Ferraris and Fiats between 1966 and 1976. The name was a tribute to the Commendatore's son Dino (Alfredo), who sadly died in 1956 at the age of just 24 following a battle with muscular dystrophy.

Although common in the world of sports car racing by the mid-60s, a mid-engined configuration for a road car was a bold move - one Ferrari was keen to make, but not yet ready to apply to his 12 cylinder-powered cars, in case his customers struggled with the naturally more challenging handling generated by such layouts. The Dino brand provided him with the opportunity he sought and he had Sergio Pininfarina build a mid-engined concept car for the 1965 Paris Motor Show. It was duly badged Dino - not Ferrari. A refined Dino 206S was then shown at the Turin show of 1966. The response to this radical new concept was suitably positive and, following a fairly protracted prototype phase, the first production version - the 206GT - came into being in 1968.

The newcomer was powered by a transverse-mounted, all-alloy DOHC 2.0-litre engine of V6 configuration (hence the 206 name), the output of which was 160bhp. The car was the first to be sold by Ferrari with electronic ignition - a system developed especially for the Dino's high-revving engine by Magnetti Marelli. Just 152 206GTs were produced between 1968 and 1969 - all were lefthand drive. They featured fully independent suspension and disc brakes all round and were clothed in lightweight aluminium bodies.

It was clear to the car's many fans that it could easily handle more power, which it received in the form of the 246GT. The 2418cc DOHC engine featured alloy heads on an iron block and produced 195bhp. The height of the revised Dino remained the same, but the wheelbase was extended by 2.1in and, for cost reasons, the body was now primarily steel with some alloy panels rather than aluminium throughout. The factory's policy of branding the cars Dinos rather than Ferraris continued and Ferrari badging was never applied at source - many owners have, however, added them retrospectively. Some 3,761 246 GTs and GTSs were produced between 1969 and 1974, when the model was superseded by the 308GT4.

The 246GT offered is finished in traditional Rosso Chiaro complemented by a black interior. Chassis 04454 was originally supplied by S.G.M. Motors of Newcastle and was one of around 446 Series III 246GTs to be built with right-hand drive. Is understood to have received an engine overhaul some seven years ago and the indicated mileage of just 60,000 is believed, though not warranted, to be correct. The vendor considers the paintwork and bodywork to be "good", though not concours and the engine, transmission and interior to be "very good".

Surely one of the prettiest cars of all time, the Dino is considered by some to be undervalued at present. Certainly, good low mileage examples are increasingly sought by collectors, and 'KBB 69L' represents an increasingly rare opportunity for those in the market for one.

PLEASE NOTE: This lot was driven to the sale from Solihull but the vendor informs us that there is no spare wheel with it.