Ferrari Dino 246 GT Review

When it was new, this car did not carry Ferrari's name. The Dino badge honored Enzo Ferrari's son Alfredo, known as Dino, who died in 1956 and is credited, with Vittorio Jano, with the V6 idea, and the script on the badge and cam covers follows his signature; Ferrari kept its own name for its twelve-cylinder cars until 1976. The 246 GT replaced the 2.0 liter 206 GT in 1969 and made its official debut at the Turin show that November. It kept the 206's shape, drawn at Pininfarina by Aldo Brovarone and Leonardo Fioravanti, on a wheelbase 60 mm longer, with a 2.4 liter engine whose block was now iron rather than aluminum and a Scaglietti body in steel rather than aluminum.

The 2,419 cc V6 has its banks at 65 degrees, two camshafts per bank and three Weber carburetors, and made 195 hp at 7,600 rpm in European trim and 175 hp in American cars with an air pump. It sits crosswise behind the seats and drives a five-speed gearbox, and the coupe weighs 1,080 kg. Motor magazine measured 148 mph in 1971, against 136 mph for a Porsche 911S it had tested, and the Dino was quicker to 50 mph, though the Porsche was slightly more economical and cheaper in Britain.

Denis Jenkinson of Motor Sport, asked how the Dino drove, would ask how it looked, and then say that is how it goes. American sales began at the end of 1971, at $14,700 for 1972, and the targa-topped GTS followed in 1972. Judged against its era the equipment was basic: leather seats, a gated shifter and an opening where a dealer fitted the radio.

Rust decides whether a Dino is a pleasure or a money pit. Hagerty's buyer's guide warns that rust in a rough car will cost more than the purchase price, that corrosion in the central chassis tube is lethal, and that lower doors and wheel arches go too. Cooling and wiring need watching, and the Dinoplex electronic ignition, which the Dinos introduced to Ferrari road cars, is a known weak point, but the V6 itself is stout, with chain-driven camshafts that spare it the belt changes of the V8s that followed. Values have multiplied: RM Sotheby's sold a 1971 coupe in St. Moritz for about $405,000 in September 2023, and a GTS with the Chairs and Flares options, Daytona-style seats and flared arches over wider wheels, made $1,325,000 at Gooding Christie's Amelia Island sale in March 2026.

Sports Car International ranked the Dino sixth among the sports cars of the 1970s, and Motor Trend Classic put the 206 and 246 seventh among the greatest Ferraris. Its V6 gives away power to the twelve-cylinder cars and its cabin is simple, but a light mid-engined car with unassisted steering and a willing engine is the reason it outsold every Ferrari before it, and why it remains one of the most rewarding classic Ferraris to drive.