1970 Ferrari 246 GT Coupé
Coachwork by Carrozzeria Pininfarina
Registration no. Not registered in the UK
Chassis no. 00696
Engine no. 00696

This startlingly-liveried Ferrari Dino 246 GT is another long-term display car from the Collezione Maranello Rosso which we can confirm retains its original matching-number chassis, engine and gearbox. It is the 146th Dino 246 GT to have been built out of the total 355 units of its type.

When the original Dino 206 series was originated in combination by Ferrari, Fiat and Pininfarina partly as an effective 'homologation special' to provide a production-based 4-cam V6 engine suitable for adaptation for single-seater Formula 2 racing use, power output was 180bhp at 8,000rpm and peak torque to 19m/kg – 137lbs/ft – at 6,500rpm. Four Silentbloc mounts united engine/gearbox aggregate and Ferrari-made tubular chassis frame, but fewer than 200 Dino
206s were produced before being replaced in 1969 by the biggerengined 246GT as offered here.

The V6 engine's displacement had grown to 2,418cc with bore and stroke dimensions of 92.5mm x 60mm. The power unit was made by Fiat and the iron-block engine provided 195bhp at 7,600rpm and 23m/kg torque at 5,000rpm. Into 1970 the manufacturer's sales slogan became "Tiny, brilliant, safe proof of the constant
development of the smaller Ferrari cars...". In fact, here in the Dino dvelopment line was the very first Gran Turismo Ferrari to offer a centrally-mounted power unit with all the balance and dynamic stability that this race-bred location could offer.

The Dino 246 GT was fast, nimble, looked utterly gorgeous, and its Pininfarina styling combined aggressiveness and impeccably balanced proportion in a uniquely mouth-watering manner. It was also very keenly priced for the period at $13,400 compared to $20,000 for the contemporary 365 GTB/4 Daytona Berlinetta.

Between 1970 and 1971 Dino production virtually doubled. The open-cockpit Dino 246 GTS joined the range at the 1972 Geneva Salon de l'Automobile exhibition, with its central roof panel removable to leave windscreen and rear-cockpit arch or roll-over section in place.

The French magazine 'Virage' published a comparison test between the Dino 246 GT and the contemporary 2.2-litre Porsche 911S in March 1970. The Ferrari Dino bettered its German counterpart on top speed, acceleration and – perhaps most favourably of all – in terms of "driving pleasure". Porsche subsequently reacted to this Italian threat by enlarging their 911 engine to 2.4-litres, which turned some of the tables, and which led Ferrari to introduce the very much more revamped 3-litre Dino 308 GT which replaced the 246 GT/GTS series in 1974. At that point some 3,661 Dino 246s had been produced – 2,485 of them being the better looking fixedhead Coupés such as this example offered here, and the balance of them being the 1,274 detachable-roof Spiders.

This particular car offered here – chassis number '00696' – was completed by the factory on March 6, 1970 and its Certificato d'Origine was then issued on March 27 that year. It was delivered new to official dealer M. Gastone Crepaldi Sas of the Via San marco in Milan that same month, and sold immediately to local
resident Signora Amelia Lia Crippa. It was registered in the name of Signora Giulia Macchi (born 1890 and probably either the mother or grandmother of Signora Amelia). Its registration plates read 'MI K 60418'.

On June 27, 1973, this Dino 246 GT was sold to the second owner, Mario Grandi, of Bologna for the declared price of Lire 4,400,000. On August 31 that year the car was re-registered in Bologna as 'BO 555583'. When its oil was changed on November 21, 1974, its odometer reading was noted as being 11,415kms.

Fabrizio Violati acquired the car sometime in the later 1970s and it became an integral exhibit within his Collezione Maranello Rosso museum in the Republic of San Marino. The car's colour scheme is nothing if not startling in orange-hued Rosso Dino 20-R-350 externally and trimmed with Blu 135 Vinyl within the cabin, which looks startlingly fresh but is apparently genuine and original.

The car has suffered some deterioration over its long years on Museum display, and its chrome work and rubber-edging, particularly around the engine bay and opening-lid sections will require attention, although replacement would not be expensive. As with all these Maranello Rosso cars we obviously recommend expert inspection and careful re-commissioning before a new owner seeks to run the car in earnest. But this is nonetheless a little-used and really very original example of its type – a mid-production 1970 Dino 246GT Coupé with what is believed to be a genuine 17,123kms only recorded upon its odometer.

Please note this vehicle is subject to import tax should it remain in the EU.