Owners and former owners: shout out why you love this car. For me, it was the froggy shape with the giant front fenders and the sounds it made. It looked and felt like something from the 60's. Crude? Yes-- but with a rather unique character from other cars of the period. What's your reason to love it?
If I owned one now, I would say it is the current "market value" (especially if I had purchased it >= 5 years ago)
I have always thought it was the best looking car of its time. then about 15 years ago I was at a corvette Mikes in LA looking a a old corvette and there it was a beautiful 246 GT red with beige interior but I thought he was crazy he wanted 95K for that car but I never forgot the car (did not buy it ) then 15 years later ended up finding one just like it and paid more then double that for the car but sure is fun to drive and absolutely beautiful .. One thing I really like besides its look is you can drive the country roads and with the engine screaming and fantastic handling there is nothing like it......the engine just sings above 5000 rpm all the way to redline....
I didn't think as a pure driving car that was the attraction. It's a fine car to drive for its period but slow and a bit querky by today's standards. Other things more than made up for it though.
There are too many reasons to list, but here are some: the body design, very futuristic at the time, seems even more so today; the engine's sound and free-revving nature; the almost cat-like handling; the lowness and the cockpit-like cabin; its status as a memorial to Enzo's first-born son; its pioneering use of the mid-engine configuration for Ferrari road cars (by the way, if a Dino is truly "not a Ferrari," no real Ferraris have been made for many, many years; Ferrari today is to FIAT what Cadillac is to GM--a halo car). As a Dino owner of 37 years' standing, I can't think of another car that could hold my affection and rapt attention for anywhere near that long. Fred p.s.: Mayor, I wholeheartedly agree with the frog reference. I've long seen the resemblance, and think it adds a life-like quality to the Dino's aura. f
Of all the road cars Ferrari has built I think the Dino has the most obvious connection with famous, purpose-built Ferrari race cars, the 206S and SP. Plus, you can enjoy that DNA on public roads without having to drive at high speeds. (Of course, a "sprint" once in a while is mighty nice!)
Ummmm, cause to me the front looks like a 911. I always wanted a 911 but my wife wouldnt let me buy one cause she doesnt like the look of them.... Damn, today is April 2nd isnt it?? Never mind.
The sound, the looks (both exterior and interior-- I hate the rectangular interiors of the later cars), and the driving. You can enjoy a curvy mountain road because it is narrow enough that it doesn't take up the whole lane and drive at near the limit without going insanely unsafe speeds.
Because wherever mine goes be it Savile Row or the East End it always makes people smile and laugh and talk to each other. I xant count the number of times that i have let people sit in it because thay always wanted to - usually sons therefore allowing their Dads to sit in as well.....truly something beautiful you can share.
The first time I saw a Dino, a white 246 GTS, I was truly amazed by its wonderful shape. Among its beautiful features were the gorgeous rear end with the curved rear window, the air intakes from the doors back and the front end wheel humps with covered headlights which all took my breath away, literally. Its owner had pulled up in it at a Country Club near our house in Wales when I was 10 years old at around 10am one Sunday morning in 1973. I stared at it the the whole day, totally mesmerised, until the owner drove it away at around 9pm that night. I had fallen in love with it hook, line and sinker.
When I sit in it and look at the curves through the windshield, it just reminds me of a woman who truly loved the Dino, and that, always makes me smile.
I have loved mine because they have gone up in value by over 300% whenever I have sold one. OOPPSS, my mistake, wrong thread.
I remember finding the Dino in my teens in an book at the local library...possibly World Cars. I said to myself "one day...". The curves is what got me initially. That exterior shape was so similar to the race cars and it was for the street. Then I learned about the story and it added another fascinating layer to the car. I read everything I could about the car. When I started actively looking for my Dino and test driving different cars, all the road test impressions came flooding into my mind. The sounds, the feel, and still that exquisite shape. And then once having been inside behind the wheel, and seeing that fabulous view out the front screen with those bulging fenders...female forms come to mind. And now, to be able to enjoy that view and those sounds and sensations everyday is a dream come true. Every time I lock up the car, I always look back and smile. Oh, and upon using the car everyday for all purposes, the practicality is an unexpected bonus! A real usable trunk! We are truly blessed.
From the day it came out for sale to the public, but alas, always out of reach... Then, when I found the first one, it was a feeling of grim reality and horror, as it was way beyond my comprehension how I was going to get out of that hole. Then I got another! The rest, as they say... Regards, Alberto
Same thing for me, Alberto. Seven years after purchasing my first GT, I bought a second, ostensibly to "save" the first one. Then I redid the second one..........It never really stops, does it? Let's hope not!!!!! Fred
