Description
This lot will be auctioned via Iconic Auctioneers, The Iconic Sale at the NEC Classic Motor Show 2024 - Cars on Saturday the 9th of November, NEC, Birmingham, B40 1NT. In the mid-1960s, Ferrari needed a 2-litre production-based engine for their new Formula 2 and conceived the mid-engined Dino 206 to provide the necessary basis. Since the late 1950s, Ferrari's V6-engined sports-racers had used the Dino name, after Enzo Ferrari's late son, Alfredino, who had died in 1956 and this was duly applied to the new road car. Indeed, at this time it was intended that it would be the first of an entirely separate marque. The new V6 power unit would prove as successful on the racetrack as in the showroom: Derek Bell and Ernesto Brambilla both winning races in the European Championship, while Andrea de Adamich triumphed in the 1968 Argentine Temporada series. However, faced with the daunting task of building 500 units per annum to meet the FIA's homologation requirements, Ferrari turned to FIAT for assistance, the resulting agreement for the latter to build the Dino's four-cam V6 engine leading to a spin-off model for FIAT. Launched in Pininfarina-bodied two-seater Spider form at the 1966 Turin Show, the FIAT Dino carried its 2-litre, 160bhp engine ahead of the driver in a conventional manner and was notable as the first FIAT to employ four overhead camshafts and a limited-slip differential as standard. Steel bodied, the newcomer employed a FIAT 5-speed gearbox and featured independent front suspension by means of wishbones and coil springs, a live rear axle, and disc brakes all round. A longer-wheelbase 2+2 Coupé model with Giorgetto Giugiaro-penned Bertone coachwork appeared the following year at the Geneva Salon and was much-acclaimed for its good looks and clever design.
Finished in Rosso Corsa with a black interior, this Dino is fresh to market having been loved and cherished by the same family owners since 1976, some 48 years, a rare occurrence indeed. As an early 2-litre Coupé, this particular Grand Tourer is one of the original homologation examples and is one of only nine believed to survive today, suggesting that this could be the 'holy grail' of FIAT Dino ownership and would be extremely difficult to replicate should this opportunity be missed or passed by. Having been painted some years ago to an extremely high standard and with little use since, the overall condition remains outstanding throughout and comes highly recommended. We therefore welcome and encourage your early inspection to satisfy yourself as to the overall quality and opportunity that this rare, fresh to market FIAT provides.
