Alfredo “Dino” Ferrari was the only son recognized by Enzo Ferrari at the time of the unfortunate death of Dino at age 24. His promise was unfulfilled, for with his poor health, he was unable to grow into the successor to his father that he likely would have been. His abilities were strong and he completed studies at the Corni Technical Institute in Modena and obtained an engineering degree in Switzerland.

Dino’s thesis was the design of a 1.5-liter, three-valve per cylinder engine and he remained as actively close to the affairs of the factory as he was able as he battled Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Dino had discussed the technical details of the 1.5-liter V-6 engine with fellow engineer, Vittorio Jano. While bedridden in the last months of his short life, he maintained his interest, particularly in this unit. The engine would run for the first time some months after his death in June 1956; Mr. Enzo Ferrari would honor Dino with his name as the official designation for Ferrari’s V-6 powered road and racecars.

In October 1965 Pininfarina exhibited an entirely new car on its dais at the Paris Salon, the 206 GT Berlinetta Speciale with a full-width Plexiglas nose with four lights. It was a street version of the recently introduced 206 S racecar with a V-6 engine mounted in the rear. The berlinetta was unbelievably sleek and featured a unique concave rear window. This would lead to the second 206 GT; exhibited at Turin in 1966 and would serve as the link between the original and the 206 GT production car. It was very clean and attractive and would become the basis for the transverse-engined production coupe - the first true production rear engine car built by Ferrari.

The 206 GT went into production for model year 1968 and offered a near-perfect weight balance and superb handling. For the March 1972 Geneva Auto Show, Ferrari revamped the Dino and introduced the 246 model available as a Berlinetta Coupe or a GTS Spider. A larger 2.4-litre engine with better performance and inherent handling characteristics set the 246 apart from the 206.

A driver’s car to the extreme; this exceptionally restored 1974 Ferrari 246 GTS Dino is finished in Giallo Fly with black interior. Chassis number 06458 is the popular targa-type model with removable roof section to fully exploit the mesmerizing feel of putting this five-speed machine through its paces on the open roads. It’s an exhilarating car, much like the larger Ferrari’s; it can rarely be used to its limits in most real-world motoring situations. The transverse engine allows a sizable and usable trunk area, one example of the clever space utilization that makes this such an enjoyable car.

The Pininfarina design was executed by Scaglietti and the look seems as fresh now as when introduced. This beautiful example is fitted with the appropriate Cromodora alloy wheels, Michelin XWX tires, Blaupunkt AM/FM, Veglia “Dino” labeled instrumentation, four-wheel disc brakes, Ansa exhaust and optional power windows. Accordingly, this lovely Dino has its toolkit in the leather roll.

The 246 Dino is considered by many to be one of Pininfarina’s most beautiful designs, with voluptuous curves and flowing bodywork. When production ended in 1976, following the introduction of the 308, the Dino was Ferrari’s most popular model yet, with the total production topping 6,000 units. Only 1,274 of those were open-top GTS variants.