Special features: beautiful, beautiful, damn her. The star of this first issue of DLux is the Dino 246 GTS, which has always been one of the sports cars most sought-after and desired by collectors the world over. A grand tourer that doesn’t look out of place in the gardens of the most famous homes from the French Riviera to Capri, from Paris to Los Angeles. It’s easy to see why: it’s one of the models that has recently bucked the
trend, as far as price is concerned, that is to say, it has kept going up and up during a historical moment of “stasis” for the world of vintage cars. And then, most importantly, because it’s still damn fun to drive. Only (so to speak) 195 HP available for the 65° V6 born of a healthy and robust constitution, a true mechanical gem, with a cast iron monobloc. The maximum speed of 245 km/h is reached in an instant and it handles like a kart: fast, direct steering, lively acceleration. After all, it comes with an engine that bears a promising sounding name, that of the son of a father who gave so much to the world of global motor racing: Enzo Ferrari.
Both designers were employed by Pininfarina.
In the history of the Maranello company there is a family of engines inextricably linked to Dino, who died prematurely in 1956 at just 24 years old. The origin of this lineage dates back to the now legendary 6-cylinder that Dino Ferrari designed in the early 1950s, and which turned out to be a unit with absolutely exceptional performance. From this “matrix” Enzo Ferrari derived a series of Dino engines, with various displacements and power levels, which achieved famous victories in Formula 1 and Formula 2 and in the Sports Prototype category.
The 246 GTS is the extreme version of the Dino world’s small road sedans with a 6-cylinder engine: the S in the acronym stands for Spider, but in reality this type of bodywork is “with a removable roof”: a portion of the roof can therefore be detached and stored behind the seats, so you can drive, especially in summer, while enjoying the sun and the sea air. It was officially presented at the Geneva Motor Show in 1972, when Ferrari had already hypothesized the retirement of the model. Instead, given its economic success, the Maranello company was “forced” to keep it in production for almost three years for a total of 1,274 units. A great success in economic terms, there’s no doubt about it. But not just that: the engine was later mounted on a legendary Lancia destined to reap successes in the most important rallies in the world: the Stratos.
Why is it still popular today? Technically speaking, it is the first series-produced Maranello grand tourer to mount the engine in a transverse rear position. The line, based on the original design by maestro Aldo Brovarone, was then perfected by Leonardo Fioravanti for Pininfarina.
It might sound strange, but it’s best in a color that is not the “predictable” racing red, if possible. Splendid in yellow, wonderful in metallic shades.
text by Gaetano Derosa
