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.
Although not one of Ferrari's most successful racers, the 206 S Dino does remain as one of the prettiest cars to roll off the Maranello line. With 18 built, they are not quite as rare as the similarly styled 330 P3 and 330 P4 models but they are still highly sought after and quite a few have been in the same hands for many years.
The third Dino Spyder built was raced extensively, then sidelined with a seized engine in 1969. A new block was eventually cast and the car was back on track. (Photo: Wouter Melissen)
The car coming up for sale in Monaco, chassis 006, was the third production 206 S Dino and supplied new to Colonel Ronnie J. Hoare's Marenello Concessionaires Racing Team. It was raced all around Europe by the likes of Mike Parkes, David Piper and Mike Hailwood in the striking Maranello Concessionaires colors.
Parkes achieved the car's best result when finished sixth overall and first in class during the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch. In August of 1967, Ronnie Hoare sold the 206 S Dino on to privateer racer Gustaf Dieden through the Swedish Ferrari concessionaire.
Dieden raced the car at several events before a crash forced him to return the car to Maranello to have the left-front corner repaired. The Dino was later sold and campaigned by fellow Swedes Hans Wangstre and Evert Christofferson under the Team Bam-Bam in such international events as the Nürburgring 1000 km and Targa Florio.
In 1969, the V6 seized and it was replaced by an experimental Volvo engine, effectively ending its competitive racing career. The current owner acquired the car soon after and put it in storage until a replacement engine could be found. Eventually, the original drawings were used to cast a series of four new blocks in the late 1980s; the owner also had bought a second chassis with a damaged engine.
The last Dino Spyder, restored and repainted, was seen at the recent Retromobile in Paris. It's now offered for sale by a London collector-car dealer. (Photo: Wouter Melissen)
Following a full restoration, the car was campaigned in historic events by various drivers. In more-recent years, chassis 006 has been meticulously restored by Tim Samways to its original specification and colors. It is seen here both prior and after the recent restoration, at the 2004 Nürburgring Old Timer Grand Prix and the 2012 Techno Classica.
On May 12, this lovely machine with just four owners from new will be offered for the first time since 1970 by RM Auctions in their Monaco sale.
The final 206 S Dino produced, chassis 032, is believed to have been sold new to Vincenzo Arcuri. He had the car road registered and apparently never raced it in period. It subsequently passed through the hands of such noted collectors as Corrado Cuppelini, Piere Bardinon, Robert Lamplough and Jacques Setton. The current owner acquired it in 2001 and had it prepared for racing.
Sporting the national Brazilian colors, the Dino was subsequently campaigned in many major events with mixed results, ranging from a heavy accident to a race win at Goodwood. It has since been restored and repainted, and is now offered by the Fiskens historic-auto dealership in London.
For a gallery of photos, see Ferrari Dino Spyder.
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