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Automotive Lifestyle
VINTAGE: Ferrari’s Beautiful Dino Spyder
One of the 206 S Dinos, launched in 1966 to race in the Group 4 GT class against Porsche, is being offered at a collector-car auction this week in Monaco.
One of the just 18 built, the Ferrari 206 S Dino Spyder competed in the 2004 Nürburgring Old Timer Grand Prix prior to its most-recent restoration. (Photo: Wouter Melissen)
Ferrari launched its new racing cars in February 1966 for the coming season, and among them was this fabulously styled 206 S Dino Spyder.
A scaled-down version of the 330 P3 also launched that day, it was intended to compete in the Group 4 GT class against the latest Porsches. Unfortunately, labor unrest prevented the required 50 cars to be produced, so the little Dino was never homologated.
Eventually only 18 were built, and although they were not quite as successful on the track as their contemporaries, they are highly sought after today. Many have been in the same collection for many, many years.
Our 18-shot gallery features two examples, with the first one being offered this week at RM Auctions' Monaco sale with a hefty estimate of 2.2 million to 2.8 million euro ($2.9 million to $3.6 million).
At Ferrari's annual pre-season press conference in February 1966, the car that attracted most of the attention was the achingly beautiful 330 P3, which was the company's latest Le Mans challenger. With it was what seemed to be a scaled-down version of the V12 racer. Known as the 206 S Dino, it was designed to comply with the Group 4 GT regulations and built to take on Porsche both on the track and in the showroom.
Apart from the fantastic Piero Drogo-styled body, the 206 S Dino actually consisted mostly of familiar components. The 2-liter engine fitted was a direct development of the V6 originally developed by Vittorio Jano in 1957 and named after Enzo's late son, Alfredo “Dino” Ferrari. The compact unit had since shown its worth, powering both single-seat racers and sports cars to major victories. In its latest guise, it displaced 1,987cc, and equipped with Lucas fuel injection, it produced around 220 horsepower.
The new Dino's chassis followed familiar Ferrari lines, consisting of a tubular steel space frame with stressed aluminum and fiberglass panels to create a semi-monocoque. Suspension was also conventional with double wishbones, coil springs and telescopic shock absorbers on all four corners.
Mated to a five-speed gearbox, the V6 engine was mounted amidships in the chassis. With the lovely Drogo body fitted, the 206 S Dino tipped the scales at just under 600 kg (1,420 pounds),
Ahead of the February 1966 launch, Ferrari had already been experimenting with a new mid-engine racer known as the 166 P, which was initially raced with a 1.6-liter version of the engine during the 1965 season. It was fitted with several body variants that ranged from a coupe to a cut-down spyder. As a result, the production 206 S Dino was available with both a coupe and spyder body depending on the customer's requirements.
There was one small hitch in Ferrari's plan: in order for the 206 S Dino to be homologated as a Group 4 GT racer, at least 50 examples had to be produced in a 12-month period. Unfortunately for the Italian manufacturer, labor unrest brought production to a halt, and understandably, Ferrari focused all its attention on readying the cars for the 1966 Formula 1 and Le Mans campaigns. This forced the few 206 S Dinos that were built to compete as prototypes.
This was a cruel twist of fate as the 206 S Dino proved to be as quick as it was beautiful. At the type's competition debut, the 1966 Sebring 12 Hours, Scarfiotti even led the race briefly just after the start. But the reliability of the car was not up to Ferrari's usual levels and teething issues prevented the Dino from converting the pace in many notable results. Highlights in 1966 included class wins at the Nürburgring and Spa and an outright victory in the Coppa Citta di Enna on Sicily.
In the second half of the year, Ludovico Scarfiotti used one of the Dinos to defend his European Hill Climb championship but struggled against Gerhard Mitter in an eight-cylinder Porsche. He did win a round and several other privateers successfully campaigned their 206 S Dinos in local events. Due to the labor trouble, only 18 examples eventually were built of the lovely little Dino. They were raced for many years, and one was even fitted with a body that resembled the much later 312 PB sports car.
A scaled-down version of the 330 P3 also launched that day, it was intended to compete in the Group 4 GT class against the latest Porsches. Unfortunately, labor unrest prevented the required 50 cars to be produced, so the little Dino was never homologated.
Eventually only 18 were built, and although they were not quite as successful on the track as their contemporaries, they are highly sought after today. Many have been in the same collection for many, many years.
Our 18-shot gallery features two examples, with the first one being offered this week at RM Auctions' Monaco sale with a hefty estimate of 2.2 million to 2.8 million euro ($2.9 million to $3.6 million).
At Ferrari's annual pre-season press conference in February 1966, the car that attracted most of the attention was the achingly beautiful 330 P3, which was the company's latest Le Mans challenger. With it was what seemed to be a scaled-down version of the V12 racer. Known as the 206 S Dino, it was designed to comply with the Group 4 GT regulations and built to take on Porsche both on the track and in the showroom.
Apart from the fantastic Piero Drogo-styled body, the 206 S Dino actually consisted mostly of familiar components. The 2-liter engine fitted was a direct development of the V6 originally developed by Vittorio Jano in 1957 and named after Enzo's late son, Alfredo “Dino” Ferrari. The compact unit had since shown its worth, powering both single-seat racers and sports cars to major victories. In its latest guise, it displaced 1,987cc, and equipped with Lucas fuel injection, it produced around 220 horsepower.
The new Dino's chassis followed familiar Ferrari lines, consisting of a tubular steel space frame with stressed aluminum and fiberglass panels to create a semi-monocoque. Suspension was also conventional with double wishbones, coil springs and telescopic shock absorbers on all four corners.
Mated to a five-speed gearbox, the V6 engine was mounted amidships in the chassis. With the lovely Drogo body fitted, the 206 S Dino tipped the scales at just under 600 kg (1,420 pounds),
Ahead of the February 1966 launch, Ferrari had already been experimenting with a new mid-engine racer known as the 166 P, which was initially raced with a 1.6-liter version of the engine during the 1965 season. It was fitted with several body variants that ranged from a coupe to a cut-down spyder. As a result, the production 206 S Dino was available with both a coupe and spyder body depending on the customer's requirements.
There was one small hitch in Ferrari's plan: in order for the 206 S Dino to be homologated as a Group 4 GT racer, at least 50 examples had to be produced in a 12-month period. Unfortunately for the Italian manufacturer, labor unrest brought production to a halt, and understandably, Ferrari focused all its attention on readying the cars for the 1966 Formula 1 and Le Mans campaigns. This forced the few 206 S Dinos that were built to compete as prototypes.
This was a cruel twist of fate as the 206 S Dino proved to be as quick as it was beautiful. At the type's competition debut, the 1966 Sebring 12 Hours, Scarfiotti even led the race briefly just after the start. But the reliability of the car was not up to Ferrari's usual levels and teething issues prevented the Dino from converting the pace in many notable results. Highlights in 1966 included class wins at the Nürburgring and Spa and an outright victory in the Coppa Citta di Enna on Sicily.
In the second half of the year, Ludovico Scarfiotti used one of the Dinos to defend his European Hill Climb championship but struggled against Gerhard Mitter in an eight-cylinder Porsche. He did win a round and several other privateers successfully campaigned their 206 S Dinos in local events. Due to the labor trouble, only 18 examples eventually were built of the lovely little Dino. They were raced for many years, and one was even fitted with a body that resembled the much later 312 PB sports car.
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