The Ferrari Dino 208 GT4 is the smaller brother of the Ferrari 308 and was revealed at the 1973 Paris Auto Salon. The model was conceived and designed for the Italian market, where cars with a larger than two-litre displacement engine were subject to a value-added tax (VAT) of 38 percent. In order to circumvent this restrictive taxation, the engine was downsized to 1,991 cubic centimetres, making it the smallest production V-8 ever used in a Ferrari road car. As this was a model specific to the Italian market, all were produced in a left-hand-drive configuration. The Dino 208 GT4 remained in production from 1975 to 1980, and with just 840 units receiving Maranello’s stamp of approval, it remains a rarely seen Ferrari.

The 208 GT4’s 90-degree V-8 engine contained belt-driven twin-overhead camshafts per bank, transversely mounted, with the all-synchromesh, five-speed transmission assembly below, and to the rear of, the engine’s wet sump. It was fitted with a bank of four twin-choke Weber carburettors, producing a very capable 180 horsepower.

The exterior design of the 208 GT4 is similar to its 308 big brother, with the obvious external differences between the two models being the 208 GT4’s single exhaust pipe and the plain aluminium finish for the louvres on the front lid and engine cover, as opposed to satin black on the 308 GT4. With a pronounced wedge-shaped body, penned by Bertone, a look that was very much in keeping with the sharp-suited style of the period, there are a number of important design details, such as the boomerang-shaped air intakes on the sail panels, which border the rear quarter glass. The left side intake ducted cooling air to the oil radiator and the right side sent air to the carburettors, essential to making the most of the small-capacity V-8 engine. The overall design is compact and well balanced, withstanding the test of time and shifting fashions.

The Ferrari 208 GT4 Dino offered here, chassis number 10698, was built in the first year of production and has just two owners from new, with the last owner purchasing the car in 1983. Fastidiously maintained and with less than 36,000 kilometres on the odometer, this car presents in wonderful original condition and benefits from a recent engine rebuild, carried out in June 2016 by Perosino, at a cost of almost €11.000.

This excellent 208 GT4 is a perfect avenue into the elite world of Ferrari ownership, offering all the exotic appeal at a fraction of the cost of other cars sporting the famed prancing horse.