Well, even when the first "Dino" 206/246 were tried by the different journalists here in Europe, he was still worried that the car would be too difficult to handle: in quite a few number of reported cases, he was there in person for the test to advise a word of caution... Rgds
Engineer Gordon Kimball who worked at the Scuderia Ferrari during the last years Enzo was alive, reported last year, in an interview in "Motorsport Magazine" that a few weeks before his death, the last time he came at the Scuderia workshop was to have a look at the new, normally-aspired 3,5 litre V-12 they were building for the 1989 season, after the demise of the "Turbos". He was very frail, and said only two words: "Bello Motore"... Rgds
And the early cars weren't a handful? Or worse? Enzo said whatever suited his purpose at any given time. Looking for absolutes in things Ferrari is a bit of a fool's errand. But makes for fun conversations
True; but there are many moments proving that he was initially really afraid of rear-engined cars, and it took sometime for him to be convinced that they were no more difficult to drive than the front-engined one. Rgds
I have no doubt that's true. Just pointing out how inconsistent the old man could be. BTW The latest MotorSport has a great interview with Barbara Vernor Enzo's long time Secretary and PA.
Come on, David...I'm a subscriber to "Motorsport Magazine" too: Brenda Ventnor, not Barbara Vernor.(Is that Florida heat hard on you?) Joking aside, one of a very small number of people that knows a lot...because she was there! Rgds
Ah...post "digestivo" here: altready lunch time, you know... (BTW: if Brenda Ventnor could say what she knows; but she won't...) Best,
Buy the magazine. It's a great read. But don't expect to learn any more than that. She didn't go into details.
So to sum it up, The Dino is not really a Ferrari but largely accepted as one in the community, particularly by owners of older models. Some people here have a lot of petty issues and very thin skin. The Ferrari community needs more young people. I'm selling my 458 and buying a Lamborghini. My personality clearly doesn't jive with the uptight mentality that seems so prevalent over here. Thanks for helping me come to the realization that owning a Ferrari today means being associated with a group of people who just represent the complete antithesis of me. Too bad because I really liked my 458.
Now, just my two cents... Don't pay attention to the Ferraristis too much. And furthermore, there are many, many different Ferraristis. It's the car that counts: if you like the car, keep it. Just like the "Dino" owners did in the seventies when the owners of the "twelve cylinders Ferraris" refused to have these among their cars and told them: "park it there, with the other FIATs" Rgds
In the other thread, one guy who actually owned a Dino went out and photographed the various ID decals on his car. One was on the driver's side door under the latch, and it was clearly a Ferrari decal, which contained the VIN and other information such as tire inflation PSI. The other decal was on the engine and it dealt with oil specifications. Both of these were virtually interchangeable with Ferraris of the day, such as the 512bb. I lost that argument pretty quickly. And rightly so. The huge weight of the evidence is that a Dino is a true Ferrari. That had to be 9 years ago, as we were in the factory in 2007.
Too true. If you're getting hung up on this sort of question you may have missed true reason for owning cars like these. Whatever they're called.
Ferrari Owners of 1986: A Dino is not a Ferrari Dino Owners of 1986: A Dino is a Ferrari Ferrari Owners of 2016: A Dino is a Ferrari Dino Owners of 2016: We told you!!!! /END