FERRARI DINO 206GT
Year of manufacture 1967 Recorded mileage 57,871km
Asking price €699,500 Vendor Gallery Aaldering, Brummen, The Netherlands; 0031 575 564055; www.gallery-aaldering.com
WHEN IT WAS NEW Price $13,000 Max power 178bhp Max torque 137lb ft 0-60mph 5.8 secs Top speed 146mph Mpg 22.5
Dino values have hit the stratosphere in recent years, as punters have gradually woken up to the appeal of a car that long lived in the shadow of its bigger, more powerful siblings. And while the later iterations of Ferrari’s junior supercar offer greater thrills – and a meaner look in desirable ‘chairs and flares’ trim – it’s the genesis of the model that has always held the greatest appeal for me.
Part of that is down to the story. Hiding behind his iconic dark glasses or his imposing Fiorano desk, Enzo was a difficult character to read. From his complicated private life to his fiery interactions with journalists and his own racers, Il Commendatore sounds as if he would make even Kimi Räikkönen look like an overly enthusiastic children’s entertainer. If there was one chink in his armour, it was surely his devotion to his first son, Alfredo, whose life was cut tragically short by muscular dystrophy, and in whose memory Il Grande Vecchio dedicated one of the prettiest sports cars to leave Maranello: the Dino 206GT.
‘Alfredino’ had been credited not only with co-creating Ferrari’s first V6 engine but also, alongside Vittorio Jano, with convincing his father to consider smaller racing engines than his signature V12; the Dino name adorned the firm’s competition cars from as early as 1957. But it wasn’t until 1965 that a road car was so badged, the mid-engined 206 breaking cover at the Paris Salon. The car eventually went into production two years later, and by the time the model was superseded by the 246GT in 1969 just 152 had been built, making it one of the marque’s more exclusive series production cars.
Gallery Aaldering has one of the best, a 1967 example that has been the subject of a full nut-and-bolt rebuild to exacting specifications. Both the chassis and aluminium bodywork (later cars were made from steel) were taken back to bare metal, with the latter finished in its original Bianco Polo Park. The chrome has been refinished, as have the gorgeous 14in Cromodora wheels.
The 206GT doesn’t quite have the power of later 2.4-litre versions, but the 1986cc V6, the same as used in the early Fiat Coupé and Spider, nonetheless produces a healthy 178bhp, spinning up to a spine-tingling 8000rpm. All of the major mechanical components including the engine and gearbox were fully rebuilt by specialists using factory components, and all numbers match.
The interior of the car looks every inch as nice, the result being a stunning example of one of the most sought-after roadgoing Ferraris.