At the 1965 Paris Salon, a mid-engined prototype dubbed the Dino 206 GT Speciale was unveiled on the Pininfarina stand. While a design study, its core was based upon the chassis of a sports racing model with inline mid-engined placement. The car featured headlamps covered by a clear Perspex lens that extended the full width of the nose, but otherwise, the shape was essentially that which would evolve into the production Dino 206 GT.

The Dino 206 GT was a smaller-displacement road-going variant of the Dino 196 S, a racing model with an engine derived from the last design of Enzo Ferrari’s late son, Alfredino. It accommodated a Fiat V-6, developed by Ferrari and engineered to be mounted transversely in a chassis assembled on a modern production line. Having the engine built by Fiat was in order to meet new Formula 2 regulations that required racing engines to be production-based and built in quantities of no fewer than 500 a year. Both Ferrari and Fiat therefore used versions of the same engine, in vehicles badged “Dino,” thus achieving that production goal.

The new Ferrari model – technically not a Ferrari at all, as the famous prancing horse was nowhere to be seen – was launched in 1968 and was produced for two years, with 154 examples going to new homes. All were left-hand drive and featured an aluminum body and engine, thus distinguishing them from the next-generation 246 Dinos, which had steel coachwork and were available with the wheel on the right.

CHASSIS NUMBER 00298

According to its knowledgeable owner, the Dino 206 GT offered here, chassis number 00298, was delivered at the factory in December 1968. Its earliest known caretaker was a Monsieur Janievre of France, who was recorded with it in the Dino Registry between 1974 and 1976. The car subsequently made its way to San Diego, California, where the current owner acquired it in 1978.

The consignor describes the Dino’s restoration (positively) as “insanity.” It was begun in 1985 by Dennis McCann, then the guru in all things Dino-related, who rebuilt the engine, gearbox, and transaxle. As Mr. McCann sold his business shortly thereafter, work was continued by well-known longtime and highly respected Ferrari restorers the Kleeves Company and Terry Myr, in Michigan. The owner recounts that the car was dismantled down to the three main tubes of the frame, which were media-blasted and properly epoxy-finished in black. All of the outer aluminum panels were fitted better than at the factory; both the inside and outside of the panels were individually painted.

The suspension was rebuilt with new bushings, and the correct finishes of the engine head cover were determined with the assistance of Luigi Chinetti Jr., who also helped source a proper wiring harness made by the factory’s original supplier. In fact, new old-stock parts were reportedly exhaustively used throughout, with the exception of such units as the upgraded brighter Carello headlamps and custom-made ANSA sport exhaust. Even the wheel spinners are the correct originals. The car is presented in its original colors, Rosso over Nero, with seats upholstered in new old-stock material acquired in the Netherlands, and is offered with a complete set of original books.

An RM Sotheby’s specialist recently inspected the car, which has been driven only 250 miles since completion of the restoration, and noted that it ran very strongly and was indeed finished “better than new” in every important regard. It is a jewelry 206 Dino deserving of a home in the best Ferrari collection.