Perhaps one of the prettiest cars to ever come out of the Ferrari factory was the Dino 206 and 246. Introduced in 1967 and produced until 1974 the car sold over 3,900 units which was a new record for the company for one model. This was the first mid engine road card using a V6 engine. The name came from Enzo Ferrari's son Dino, who had helped talk his father into building a V6 for the road. This introduced a new line of cars which did not carry the Ferrari brand or badges. The initial V6 engine was 1,986 cc's or about 2.0 liters and the 206 designation represented both the capacity of the engine (2.0) and the 6 was for 6 cylinders. It had a rated horsepower of 180 at 8,000 rpm which was almost unheard of for a corresponding American car.
Only 152 cars were produced until the engine was enlarged to 2,418 cc which lead to the model change called the 246GT in 1969. In 1972 a spider or open top car was introduced and called the 246 GTS. The 246 models produced 195 bph and gave the car a top speed of 151 miles per hour. These cars are still known today as being outstanding in road holding and have been compared to race cars. Initially the Dino brand did not take off as well as the Ferrari brand. Many of the early cars were mistreated and left outside, which caused a lot of rust damage. Early cars had heavy depreciation and were not a particularly sought after collector car.
Today in the marketplace this is now a desirable car and can fetch over $180,000 for an excellent example. They are a relatively small car, with a noisy engine and great fun to drive, whether on the road, on the track or part of a rally. At Ferrari car shows the Dino always attracts a lot of attention, and special class awards have been made just for this model. From what was once considered a step child of the company has now come into its own.
Dennis Dater has been involved with cars for over 50 years. He is now in the process of opening a web site which will sell only Honda Accord aftermarket automobile parts. Please visit him.
http://www.accordmania.com
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