“Occasionally, we do test cars that closely approach perfection, missing
it only in details of execution or performance. Into this rare category comes
the 2.4-litre transverse mid-engined Ferrari” – British magazine Motor
gets to grips with the new Dino 246 in 1971
Few cars truly warrant the epithet ‘Most Beautiful in the World’. Of
those, only a handful are as rewarding to drive as they are to look at. The
immortal Ferrari Dino is one.
This Dino 246 GTS was first delivered in 1973 to a customer in Zurich.
The following year it was sold to our client, also Swiss, who has kept it ever
since.
The opportunities to purchase a two-owner Euro-spec Dino GTS are rare.
To find one in this condition, in highly sought-after and very 1970s Marrone,
is one not to be missed.
The Ferrari Dino 246 GTS
Launched at the 1972 Geneva Motor Show, the targa-roofed version of the
popular Dino 246 GT – a car for the wealthy sporting enthusiast, rather than
the super-rich clientele who favoured the big Maranello V12s – was based on the
final, E Series Dino 246.
The most accomplished version of the first mid-engined Ferrari road car
had a redesigned and improved gearbox and other modifications to make it a far
more rounded GT than the first L and M series cars. Rather than being just ‘the
affordable Ferrari’, the final Dino was a desirable luxury sports car in its
own right.
The Dino 246 GTS had a hard roof that stowed behind the seats and, with
the windows in the rear sail panels deleted, the GTS was given a distinctly
different stance. Of the 1,282 Dino GTSs built, most were exported to North
America, a market that took a Federalised version with a lower-output engine
(minus 20bhp), the familiar US repeater lights and other small changes.
In total, Dino 246 GTS production ran to 1,282 examples. Left-hand
drive, Euro-spec cars numbered just 401. Of these cars, leather upholstery was
unusual – many were delivered with vinyl seats and trim.
Today, the European cars are the most sought-after, with exciting
vibrant colours such as bright greens or blues, orange/red Rosso Dino,
metallic browns and golds highly praised. With so many cars repainted ‘resale
red’ in the 1990s, it’s hard to find a Dino ‘as delivered’ in unusual 1970s
shades. This 1973 Dino 246 GTS is one.
This Motor Car
Dino 246 GTS ‘7054’ was commissioned by a Zurich-based, Swiss client in
elegant Marrone Dino Metallizzato (106-M-73) with Beige (430, vinyl)
interior. Interesting options included power windows and air conditioning. The
sale was handled by the national distributor SAVAF (Société Anonyme pour la
Vente des Automobiles Scuderia Filipinetti) and it was completed on 31 August
1973.
That year, company owner Georges Filipinetti’s big Ferrari 512Ms were
going head to head with Porsche 917s at Le Mans.
The car’s first owner was a Mr Zimmerman, but in 1974 he sold it to another Swiss gentleman who has owned it ever since.