The return of the Dino?

Nice photos.

But its too Small for fat Americans

(I miss the small cars)

 

WAITAMINUTE!!!

I'm 5'10" about 195, I guess I'm sort of a fat cat, and I fit quite nicely into my 246GT.

And, I'd love to see something retro from Ferrari, but why would they do it? They already have a backlog of orders for current designs, can sell anything for tons of money (ENZO, 612) so why go retro.

Now, Masertati on the other hand........ hmmmmm... maybe we need to start sending emails to Fiat.

 

They already make one it's called Maserati

 

Well, its lower-cost... but its nothing like a 246!! (I love the Dinos!)

I don't see Ferrari doing true "retro"... however, most of their cars pull in a lot of lines from prior cars... but they are always a step forward, one way or another.

And given the way the 360 is selling, and given the preservation of the Ferrari exclusivity, I don't see them making a cheaper car... at least not as a Ferrari.

I would love to see them come out with a Lotus-like superlight Dino-badged sportscar... except then I'd have to decide Stradale vs. Dino!!

 

1. "Maybe something along the designs of the 206 or 246"

2. "...offer a 4 or 6 cylinder engine"

3. "...a great competitor for the Lotus Elise"

4. "...use blocks from the Fiat production line"

Frank, I'm confused. Exactly which Maserati model do you think fits this description, the Coupe, Spider, or Quattroporte? All three are:

1. Front-engined with absolutely no design inspiration whatsoever from the mid-engined 206/246. In fact, one is a 2+2 (no 206/246 connection there), one is a full convertible (no 206/246 connection there) and the other is a four-door sedan (obviously no connection there).

2. Ahem... V-8.

3. Let's see: heavy, comfortable and luxurious GT car and sedan a great competitor to a lightweight, bare-bones sports car?

4. Can you say, "Ferrari-sourced?"

Jeff is right. The 360 is the direct decendant and successor to the Dino series road cars. Even so, the "Dino" line has moved up on the food chain and can no longer be considered a viable marketplace competitor to cars like the Porsche 911. Certainly, a sub-100K, mid-engined, 6-cylinder car could be done. The question is, at what cost to Ferrari's corporate identity?

 

here you go. I don't think the current Maser quite makes it as a Dino replacement.
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Id love to see a new Dino, Id take one over a Viper!

Of course, I would have to fit, and Im 6' 135lbs, so it couldnt be 35" high or anything like that.

 

It would be awesome, but it will never happen. Ferrari will never build down from their current model lines. Ever.

 

I agree; Ferrari will *never* go retro, but Maserati could. You can't get big bucks for a new sports car with old technology, so forget a retro Ferrari. The Lotus Elise is a retro car in spite of its body style, and it's cheaper than any Ferrari or Maserati. If the Elise catches on big time, it would be cool if Maserati put out a $50k small, light low tech sports car that would be a blast to drive. I doubt it would have any 60's/70's inspired body style but you never know.

Ken

 

I thought today´s mid-engined 8-cylinders share the bloodline of the 246. Isn´t the 308 GT4 (Dino) a direct descendant of the 246 Dino? In that case , the 308, 328, 348, 355, 360 are all descendants of the Dino. So the question would be as to where in the range of current models, a new interpretation of the Dino would be placed. Apperantly the Dino is seen as a ´little´ Ferrari, which I believe has largely to do with it´s smaller engine and not much else.

Perhaps it would commercially be interesting to come up with a more affordable Ferrari, and name it a Dino, but in a technical sense it would not be worth it. Of course Ferrari would need a new six cylinder engine, because when the engine is being delivered from elsewhere, it isn´t a Ferrari to begin with. But I don´t think Ferrari would design a whole new engine outside their current range and I don´t think Ferrari should be building engines with less than eight cylinders. Ferrari´s current range is wide enough.

 

With production capped at around 4,000 cars, there is no way that Ferrari will make a sub-$100k car. In fact, starting with MY-2005, I doubt that they will have any cars under $200k.

Now, Maser might.

Better yet, Fiat might.

 

I would love to see this happen..

But I don't think Ferrari would make a low line Ferrari for those who can't afford their regular line.. The 360 is their entry level Ferrari.

They would have some major production issues if that were to happen.. (supply and demand..) Quality would be lost. Worst of all Ferrari would no longer be an exclusive vehicle.

Next thing you know Ferrari would donate a car to the LAPD.
Great! That's all we need.

 

Well, remember that the Dinos were intended to be a different marque from Ferrari. So no dillusion of the Ferrari brand would occur if a new line were launched with the Dino name and really kept separate this time. Mechanicals designed by Ferrari, body by Pininfarina, and assembled at Fiat somewhere. 2.4 V6, at least 220hp, sub 2000 lb. curb weight...priced at Boxster or Elise levels. Sounds great to me.

 

The Elise is a retro car??
Eh?

Just which bit exactly? The Elise chassis and suspension is about the most advanced you will find currently in production! It certainly isnt low tech either, unless of course you mean creature comforts free.

It doesnt even look retro!

DJC

 

The 420 should be badged as a Dino and with the production 12 cylinder flagship 575m remain a Ferrari along with any future special production cars such as the Enzo. Obviously that was Enzo's intentions anyway for all non-12 cylinder cars in that the the 308GT4 was first badged a Dino until the American market pooped on it causing the factory to switch the Dino badges to Ferrari badges in order to sell the little v8s.

 

No.
Needs to be 3ltr v6 300BHP and aim at 2550lbs...that is roughly 1200Kg's
That is 250BHP/ton. Ample

It needs to whup the Boxster in every aspect. Aiming at the Lotus Elise is a very very very bad idea because the Ferrari/Dino would get shown up and humiliated. The very last thing Ferrari or anybody else wants to try and do is out-Lotus, Lotus.

 

Retro in approach. The moden sports car has well over 300 HP, is heavy and computer controlled to the max. The Elise has a modern body, yes, but not mega horse power. Correct on the suspension: Lotus is second to none in that area. It's a light, no frills sports car that's built to drive.

The Elise brings back "charactor" shall I say in the driving experience. It's much more like a 308 than a 360. The driver needs to be in the right rev range, needs to know how to heel/toe and corner. In return, it will kick the asses of cars twice its price and hp. It doen't have a lot of frills; even carpeting is an option!

I find that a retro approach, like those wonderful roller skate Ferraris from the 50's.

Ken

 

The 206 was only 900kg and the 246 was 1080kg. Cars these days weigh too much!

A "Dino" would beat a boxster simply by being a Dino. Both the lotus and boxster would be mass produced commuter cars by comparrison to the exclusive, race bred, Dino.

To think Ferrari can't build something better than Lotus is ridiculous. Ferrari can out-anyone anyone. Take a look at F1. Their engine there is quite a bit better than that piece of crap Toyota races so surely they could design a Dino engine would be better than the Toyota in the (u.s. spec) Elise. Same for chasis, suspension, and every other element of automotive design. I'm not saying anyone is out there that would finance this dream of mine, but if it happened, the talent at Ferrari would guarantee that the Dino would be the best small sports car to ever hit the road.

 

Nope. You need to do a little research Im afraid. I love my Ferraris but I understand them with my eyes open. The only way, and I emphasise *only way* Ferrari could build something and succeed to take on Lotus at their own game is to hire two chaps called Matt Becker and Gavin Kershaw and that just aint going to happen. Lotus are the best in the world at what they do and nobody even gets close. Are Ferrari the best in the world at what they do??? Well Enzo v Carrera GT, the jury is still out as road cars. 575M v the Aston Vanquish...the Ferrari wins the big GT competition there. 360 v 911. Most impartial judges seem to regard the 2 as pretty equal at the moment. Stradale v GT3RS...again equal and tough you dont get the GT3RS 911 in the States. 612 v Aston DB9 v Bently Conti GT. It isnt even a contest, the DB9 walks over the pair of them.

 

Ferrari already make a cheaper car. It is called a used or second hand Ferrari. Unfortunately the reintroduction of a cheap Dino to rival the elise and the boxter would kill the used Ferrari market because a buyer would prefer buying a new car over a used one.

Ferrari are in pretty good shape as far as continuation of lines is concerned. The customers with lower budgets are also satisfied to a certain extent by buying used Ferraris. Ferrari still makes a profit on all those replacement parts and other items sold to the customers that are maintaining their used Ferraris.

 

I see nothing unfortunate in the price of used Ferraris dropping.
Do you think Ferrari cares how much used cars sell for? They get no money from those sales.
Push those cars down the food chain, then I can afford one

Erich