Tony Curtis - Ferrari Dino 246GT investigation | FerrariChat

Tony Curtis - Ferrari Dino 246GT investigation

Discussion in '206/246' started by rickyx, May 22, 2006.

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  1. rickyx

    rickyx Karting

    May 9, 2006
    117
    #1 rickyx, May 22, 2006
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    I was looking for a bit more information on this fantastic orange dino which was my absolute star in the 70´s TV serie "The Persuaders"

    This is what I encountered sofar on the internet:
    "Tony Curtis - Ferrari Dino 246GT
    The car driven by Danny Wilde (Tony Curtis) was loaned to the production company by the original owner. The car was collected from Modena, Italy by Johnny Goodman who was `in charge of production' on the series and driven to Nice, France for filming.
    The Dino received quite a lot of abuse during filming and Johnny Goodman was given the opportunity to buy it. Goodman turned the offer down so the car was returned at the end of filming.

    It was thought to have been been "lost" due to Ferrari's apparent inability (or reluctance) to provide chassis number details. To confuse matters further, Ferrari claimed they had lent two Dino to the production, a story denied by both Johnny Goodman and producer Bob Baker.

    On November 7th, 2002, internationally renowned Ferrari authority and historian, Marcel Massini (see biography below), contacted this website to correct some erroneous information about the car and provide some history about it since it's construction in 1970.

    Marcel kindly agreed to write a few explanatory paragraphs, for exclusive publication on this site and to set the story straight, once and for all, regarding the "Danny Wilde Dino":

    "The Dino 246GT Ferrari was by no means loaned to the Persuaders! production by the Ferrari factory in Maranello. At the time of the filming of the series it was privately owned. I have sighted the original Italian registration documents for this car. The car is in Italy today and still in private hands. The Ferrari factory had nothing to do with the car supplied to the series.

    The chassis number of the car is 00810. This means it is the 405th Dino built (of which the first 150 were 206 GTs with 2-litre engines). The certificate of origin for chassis number 00810 was issued on May 27th, 1970 by the Ferrari factory.

    The registration plates, MO 221400, were issued in Modena, Italy and the first private owner was Giovanni Cavedoni (b. Sassuolo-Modena September 24th 1943, resident of Sassuolo-Modena). The purchase price was 3'750'000 Italian Lire.

    Mr Cavedoni sold the car on October 7 1977 to Riccardo Bruni (b. Trieste/Italy 22 May 1952, resident at Trieste/Italy), who paid 2'000'000 Italian Lire.

    The vehicle changed hands once more on October 24, 1979, the new owner being Felice Pirozzi (b Naples/Italy 30 May 1930, resident in Sant'Anastasia Naples). He paid Italian Lire 7'000'000. Re-registered on Italian license plates of Naples. I understand the car is still in Italy today."

    Most of all I am looking for up to date pictures of this car

    Anyone a clue, lets do an investigation "persuaders"-style

    Regards,

    Ricky (Wilde)
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  2. rickyx

    rickyx Karting

    May 9, 2006
    117
  3. Skindiver

    Skindiver Karting

    Apr 22, 2004
    203
    JHB SA.
    Full Name:
    Greg
    What car did the other guy drive ?

    Skin.
     
  4. chaa

    chaa F1 Veteran

    Mar 21, 2003
    5,058
    Thanks for the above write up mate. I to used to watch the Persuaders an a young kid. and it was that car that got me into ferraris. I did not know it was a ferrari but yet i did, if ya get me drift. I always remember Dannys black driving gloves when he drove the dino. Not enough infomation has been dug up about this car today.
    I will get myself a Dino one day, its my best all time ferrari.....or not. That depends if ya class it as a ferrari. I have been so tempted to sell my 355 spider to get one, but i need to just get all the "blood and thunder" out of my system before i settle down to one. Yes indeed.....;)
     
  5. andrewg

    andrewg F1 Rookie
    BANNED

    Sep 10, 2002
    4,667
    Chester, England
    Full Name:
    AndrewG
    Roger Moore drove an Aston Martin DBS-6
     
  6. chaa

    chaa F1 Veteran

    Mar 21, 2003
    5,058
  7. 4redno

    4redno Formula 3

    Mar 21, 2006
    1,066
    Seattle, WA
    Full Name:
    Keith Mitchell Wintraub
    I'm locked out as well. Got to love the fact that he drove an "L" series - he had good taste.
     
  8. dm_n_stuff

    dm_n_stuff Four Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

  9. abstamaria

    abstamaria F1 Rookie

    Feb 11, 2006
    2,668
    Full Name:
    Andres
    I looked for the DVD after reading the postings and found a set the other rday. My wife and I watched the first show last night and really enjoyed it, Wonderful shots of the Dino in the South of France.

    Incidentally, like chaa, the image fixed in my brain cells was of Tony Curtis' black, perforated driving gloves. He wears tan gloves in this first show - maybe the black gloves come later. We'll see.

    Watch it - at least the first show is very entertaing.
     
  10. Dartagnan

    Dartagnan Rookie

    Feb 24, 2014
    4
    Hi to all,
    I just had an Italian-speaking colleague call Felice Pirozzi in Naples, who is mentioned in Rickyx's 2006 post quoting Marcel Massini. His daughter anwered the phone and said that Mr Pirozzi, now probably well in his eighties, is not as sharp as he once was (she was blunter than that) and could not answer questions.
    She confirmed that her father did own a Dino car, but that it was sold more than 10 years ago, although she could not pinpoint the year of the sale nor, alas, say who's the lucky bastard who bought it. She has heard through family lore that the car had special relevance because of it being used in what she assumed was a movie, but had no knowledge of the details.
    She mentioned that people occasionnally still call to inquire about purchasing the car. She volunteered that a lawyer had made such a call just a couple of weeks ago.
    So there we are. This is where the trail goes cold.
    Of course, I have no way to confirm or verify any of this, sitting here in Montréal on this side of the Atlantic.
    Has anyone heard anything recent about Danny Wilde's ride ?
    If so, please write me a note at [email protected].
    Cheers.
     
  11. DottCom

    DottCom Rookie

    Aug 7, 2014
    1
    Here in Italy is very easy to know who owns anything with a plate on it. from this site you can get the owner name, where he lives as far as the car is in Italy. it will cost about $ 10 Easy!
    https://servizi.aci.it/VisureInternet/welcome.do



     
  12. cmt6891

    cmt6891 Formula 3

    Feb 25, 2008
    1,334
    Encino, Ca
    Full Name:
    Carl T
    I believe that very car just sold at auction for just over $1M
     
  13. TonyJerseyUK

    TonyJerseyUK Karting

    Mar 21, 2013
    139

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