Then you've never DRIVEN a Dino. You've been behind the wheel. Driven, my dino can hang with most of the modern cars I drive with on any given weekend. It handles like it's on a rail. No, it doesn't have 9,000,000 HP and that's part of the fun. Using the revs and the gears and the +- 190 HP to its best advantage. I've never been run away from on a drive, and I've never held anyone else up, either. Of course, stick it on a straight and I'll get dusted, but driving is not about drag racing. In 1972 the biggest, baddest cars were turning maybe 300 HP and weighed two tons. Except for the Porsche 911, which had similar HP and handling as the Dino, there wasn't a whole lot on the road that was gonna give a Dino a run for the money. How do I know? Well, I was driving by 1971 and have driven most of the interesting cars of that era. I don't have a fresh memory of how they drove, but I can tell you that a '71 MGB, or a '73 Z28, or 240Z would never have stayed with my Dino. Then or now. DM
As a former Ferrari owner, but Dino lover, I've never understood why the Dino guys just don't turn the argument around on those who feel the need to discount the Dino and place it on some lower level than a badged Ferrari. My point is this...the 246 Dinos are far rarer than the total of Ferraris produced. The odds of ever encountering one are slim to none compared to, let's say, a 360 Modena (which, by the way, was purposely given styling elements of the 246...I was at a Ferrari dealer shortly after the 360's intro, and the manager kept pointing out the Dino styling cues). Sorry, 360 Modena owners, but your 360 will always be a Ferrari...never a Dino. The story of the Dino as a Ferrari side show that turned into one of its most beloved creations is one I would be proud to tell. "I've got a Dino...a car most Ferrari owners wished they had in their collection." I think you Dino folks should be hell-bent on pointing out that your Dinos were never officially badged a Ferrari, because in many ways, it was destined for something greater. Even today's corporate Ferrari wants to get in on the action and claim the Dino as its own. In the end, whatever your take is on the Dino controversy, all you have to point out is that Dino had a last name...
Let's see... my first car was a '66 Austin Cooper S... with about 75 hp. I loved it. I'm not one for torque myself, I prefer the high strung Italian song. However, you claim to know me and my abilities, but I fail to remember you from the track. Was it Summit Point or PIR? Maybe it was someone else or maybe you shouldn't weigh in on such matters in ignorance. I find 246s very easy to drift. (Much easier than my Lancia Stratos with it's shorter wheelbase.) The Dino weighs too much comparing it to a Lotus' power to weight ratio. Dinos could stand at least another 75 hp so that one is not embarrased by common Subarus (with children wavying from the back seat) blowing you away from stop lights.
We shouldnt forget one important thing, the Ferrari Dino was manufactured from mid 68 (206) to 74 (246). The 246 had a 0-60mph in around 7.1 secs. Very respectable then and still today really. I once witnessed a Cooper S hassling a dino through the corners, i know i was in the cooper. But when it pulled up at the lights mine came last in the looks category. I guess the kiddies in the back are just looking at the beauty of the car behind it. Not some Japanese hybrid that looks like it just run through the shop windows of a parts store and trying to be what it isn't.... a very cool car.
I agree. The thing is, the kids wouldn't know what a "Dino" is when they ask their mom, and neither would she. But the kids see that "Ferrari" script on the boot and start hooting and waving. (I had to mention the thread issue somehow...) Mom pulls away in the Subaru and the "Ferrari" is at full revs going through the gears trying to keep up. (Probably leaving a cloud of smoke in its wake.) Most embarrising. I love small bore duels on the track. Formula VW is fun to watch and the skills of the drivers are great. Sure, the little 246s are fun on the track too. They are just underpowered when compared to contempory cars of pretension now.
I'm sorry, I'm one of those people that Gerald at the "Ferrari Market Letter" calls a Ferrari dinosaur. The old school that thinks shields only belonged on the racing cars. There's a whole list of dinosaur beliefs in a recent Market Letter. It just goes to show you how far judging has deteriorated since they went to that Platinum to Silver system.
Now Tony, use you imagination: The silver dino with the shields and prancing horse and Ferrari scrip on the boot is sitting at a stop light, the owner stroking the leg of his mistress beside him. The subaru slowly pulls up along side, kids with their grimy faces pressed to the windows, eyeballing every inch of this pretty car... The dino dude grudgingly removes his hand... By the way, that emergency triangle you have in the other thread could be real. I have 4 or 5 old Ferrari triangles laying around and it appears that Ferrari used the cheap supplier du jour.
For those of you seeking amusement in what else Ferrari dinosaurs believe, The Ferrari Market Letter in question is vol. 32, #26, of 12.29.07 www.ferrarimarketletter.com You may have to subscribe.
Actually in this particular case it demonstrates how nice the "rest" of the car needs to be in order to still score Platinum (95+ points)... even after the deductions... Cheers
Read this and make up your own minds http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dino_(car) NOTE the manufacturer!!!
Perhaps like an adopted child looking for his real parents and identity, I finally, gave in to the urge and ordered and installed a "Ferrari" badge ... So there. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Just to be clear: I greatly admire and lust for the Dino 246GT and think arguing over whether they are "legitimate", in 2007, is brutally lame, but: It's Wikipedia: Other than the photos it's academically worthless, this article particularly so being all but unreferenced. Anyone can write an antithetical article of equal, dare I say greater, weight and compellingness. ...Eg: FIAT manufactured the engine, right? Didn't Enzo himself imply the engine was the end all and be all of his cars? ("Aerodynamics are for people who can't build engines.") Anti-Wiki rants aside, putting Ferrari badges on a Dino of any sort is an abomination on par with putting SF scudettos on privately owned street cars, Enzo didn't (certainly FIAT didn't), and it was his company and his name, why should anyone else? (That's a rhetorical question, we all know why.)
There is another location on a Ferrari 206 Dino and early 246 Dino where the word FIAT is also proudly displayed; the voltage regulator! While clearly a Marelli part, the voltage regulator cover says FIAT on early Ferrari Dinos. Of course, displaying FIAT on a Ferrari is pretty much the norm these days. Got to love the Dino. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
My understanding is somewhat different to yours From memoirs:- When Mr. Ferrari finally said yes, Pininfarina recalled, he said Okay, you make it not with a Ferrari name, but as a Dino. This was because the Dino was a less powerful car and in his [mind], less powerful meant less danger for the customers. I therefore had the permission to develop [it]. From memoirs:- Scaglietti was privy to the Ferrari-Fiat talks, so Enzo called him in the spring of 1969 with a proposition: that the two men link their companies. When Enzo asked, What do you think of doing something like I am doing? Scaglietti replied, Give me the pen! I am ready to sign. Ferrari returned to the negotiating table in Turin. Scaglietti was now part of Ferrari, he explained, and Fiat needed to purchase both companies. On June 18, 1969, Scaglietti no longer owned his carrozzeria, and Fiat owned 40 percent of Ferrari. That was the best thing I ever did, Scaglietti reflected. I have never understood one thing about the communist ideal. Good job Ford never got there hands on it!!!
The Ferrari badge IMO was put on the car because of customer confusion. Here they are standing in a Ferrari showroom, looking at a car which had a engine designed and assembled by Ferrari, a car designed by Pinninfarina and made in Maranello. It haqd Ferrari chassis plates and literature with Ferrari on it. Why didn't it have a Ferrari badge on it? People were expected to pay Ferrari money for the car and it was brought about by Fiat presssure to sell more cars who had just aqquired a percentage of the business. Mr Ferrari was not interested in the car production, but Fiat, desperate to bring the company into profit, forced them to build a mass produced car, the Dino was the only car available which is why it was given the nod of approval. Had it not been for Fiat and the production of the Dino, Enzo Ferrari would have gone bust. So Ferrari owe a lot to the Dino & Agnelli. By all accounts a "Fiat Dino 246GT" would have cost half the money than "Ferrari Dino 246", so why was the Ferrari empire asking so much money for it, because its a Ferrari. Thats why people at Maranello UK, IMO, put the Ferrari badges on the cars. Many complained and bulked at buying it. Seem to recall reading that Colonel R Hoare actually asking Ferrari to put badges on them, but EF refused. So he did it instead. i am happy with it and so are thousands of others. You cannot be a purist about the car, bits get changed. The trouble with purism is that you only use the bits you want. Mine never came with a radio, but its got a CD player now. I dont take it too concours either because i think they are pointless and suitable for people who get a**l about trivial matters, but good luck to those that do and hope they enjoy it. Choice is what its all about.
Mine never came with a radio, but its got a CD player now. I dont take it too concours either because i think they are pointless and suitable for people who get a**l about trivial matters, but good luck to those that do and hope they enjoy it. Choice is what its all about.[/QUOTE] And dont forget Tony that both you and I, and i guess a few more out there are more a**l than we care to admit............ doing things like idividually blasting and replating all the bolts with FIAT stamped on them! I to would never take my car to a concours(once its finished that is) because i do not own an Anorak. But i do like to get it as near to correct as i can be bothered.
I stand corrected Graham, yep i own up to that one. I do like to do the job properly but dont loose any sleep over changing things like the crappy starter motors they fitted or the crappy ignition system on the car etc etc. Cheers Tony
