What's in a Name?

Ideas about what a car is used for change over the years, but was the 246 ever really supposed to be a "Gran Turismo"?

 

GT- Gran Turismo

Grand touring car.

Nah.

In this instance I think it's a marketing ploy. Someone in the marketing department decided all Ferraris were Gran Tourismo.

250GT Lusso - yup, that's a GT Larger comfortable GRAND TOURING car.
246GT -UM, nope
308GT4 - mebbe
599GTB - yup.

Looks to me like Ferrari just hangs that on all their cars.

You tell me DD, is the Dino a car you'd like to spend 8 hours in cruising down the highway?

Note that the 360 and 430 have dropped the GT.

I don't consider hte Dino an over-sized highway cruiser, I don't think anyone ever did.

DM

 

Sorry, I dissagree.
For me the Dino 246 IS the REAL "GT".
It is not fair to compaire a now 40 years old car with current ones, but even if I the Dino would beat a lot of them.
GT means a fast car for long distances and if you get used to the typical iatlian
driver position he brings you quick to whereever you want without stress or getting tired.
Due to less weight on the front steering is easy, the suspensions are a perfect compromise of
direct response and with the "ballon" tyres there is always comfort enough.
If it gets to hot inside and you have no AC the vent windows help a lot.
We here ein Germany have no speed limit and I drive Dino´s since more than 20 years.
I made trips to Italy with the car, 1500 km driving with only stopps at the fuel stations.
If the car could run real 240 km/h for me an average of 190-210 is fine for the whole time if traffic allows.

 

You bet I'd spend 8 hours cruising down the highway in my Dino - I've done it many times. After a 10 hour drive, with stops only for gas, I still feel alert and invigorated: more so than I would in my Mercedes over-sized highway cruiser.

I understand a previous owner of my car regularly travelled between Calgary and LA, over the Rockies.

It's a magnificent car for travelling long distance in style - what I think Gran Tourismo really means.

 

Glad I asked! Glad folks are using these cars as intended!

 

I agree with that, heck, I'd love to spend 10 hours straight in a Dino!

But, to me, it is still not really what I think of as a GT car. It's better than that, closer to a pure sports car.

To me, a GT is a bigger, fatter car really designed for long distance traveling for 2 or more people. Something "sporty" that 2 or more could also take cross country. Something like, say, a Porsche 928 or a BMW 635.

The Dino is more sporting than a GT, also, it'd be a little tough to go X-country in it with 2 people, no room for luggage!

 

In 1994 the featured car of the Monterey weekend was Ferrari. On the trip down and throughout the week the Dino starter grew progressively more resistant to starting until nearly stranding me. It got so bad that on departure day 3 Marriott valets had to push start me and I didn't shut it down until I was home, 15 hours later. I'd pull into the far stall at gas stations and leave the engine on while re-filling!

When I got home I found it was a dirty and loose connector at the starter and its worked fine since