Lot 223: 1971 Ferrari 246GT Dino Restoration Project

Putting the engine behind the driver became the winning trend in racing in the early 1960s after being pioneered by Cooper. Ferrari experienced the advantages of the design first hand, winning the 1961 Grand Prix champion-ship with the 156 F1 and, two years, later fielding the first mid-engined car to win Le Mans, the 250 P. So it was that Sergio Pininfarina and a number of Ferrari dealers began pushing Enzo to make a mid-engined road car. "He kept insisting it was too dangerous," the effervescent coachbuilder recalled. "While he felt it was fine for racing and professional drivers, he was against making mid-engined sports cars for customers. He was afraid of the safety, of building a car that was too dangerous." Ferrari finally relented in 1965. "When Mr. Ferrari finally said yes, he said, 'Okay, you make it not with a Ferrari, but with a Dino,'" Pininfarina said. That meant the car would use a six cylinder engine instead of one of Ferrari's more-powerful V12s. "In his mind, less powerful meant less danger for the customers," Pininfarina explained. "And therefore I had the permission to develop the Dino." The name memorialised Enzo's son, Dino, who had died in 1956 and the Dino 206 S prototype made its debut at the Paris Auto Show in October 1965. Built on the 206 SP race car chassis it had a longitudinally mounted two litre V6 engine. The car was so well-received that a year later, at the Turin Show, a second Dino 206 S prototype was displayed. Known as the Dino Berlinetta GT, it also had a longitudinally mounted V6, but styling was smoother and incorporated attractive covered headlights. A final production prototype shown at 1967's Turin Show looked almost identical to the Dino Berlinetta GT, but the engine was mounted transversely, directly atop the gearbox and differential, and between the driver's compartment and the rear axle. Fiat in Turin built the two litre V6, which would also be used it in its prestige model, the front engined Dino coupe and spyder. Entering production in 1968, the 206 Dino GT boasted a top speed of over 140mph, incredibly balanced handling, and a design amongst the post-war era's most beautiful. It was an instant hit with press and public alike. That it is nearly impossible to visually differentiate between a Ferrari 246 Dino GT and a 206 Dino GT is a tribute to Pininfarina and his men, for the cars had different wheelbases. To increase cabin room, wheelbase went up to 92.1 inches (2,340mm) from 89.7 (2,280mm) while coachwork was in more durable steel in place of the 206's aluminium and the V6's capacity jumped to 2.4 litres (hence the 246 name) with brake horsepower increased by 15 to 195. The fact that it was initially delivered to Muzio Albertoni in Bergamo, Italy, is incidental to the history of this example. The story really begins with the late Martin Blight, one of the few genuinely enthusiastic engineers of the old school. Based in Northamptonshire, his workshop played host to a number of Italian exotics over the years as well as numerous others. VLE 12M was not only driven into his garage but was also his daily driver for a number of years. His projects were not so much restored in order to make money but done for an altogether more noble cause: love of design, of performance and of tried and tested, well thought out automotive engineering. To this end, he was well known for the cars he worked with and the depth of knowledge he accumulated over a lifetime. Over the ensuing 26 odd years that the Ferrari lay resting in the garage, it remained dry and in a sound general order. Immobility of this length does leave its mark however. The offside door shows evidence of corrosion and there is some peeling paint towards the rear of the car. This, though, is superficial and requires little work to prepare it for painting. The engine, as one would expect, has not been turned over for some time and so would require a full rebuild. As for the interior, this could easily be tidied up for a rolling restoration with little trouble but, as with the rest of the car, it would benefit from some financial input. This is a complete car and as such it is extremely rare to find such a modern example of a Ferrari stored so well for such a long period of time. Complete with a British registration document and the original Ferrari Dino sales brochure, this represents a special opportunity to acquire Enzo's timeless classic and prepare it to ones exact specification.