This gorgeous yellow 1970 Ferrari Dino 246 GT L goes under the hammer by RM Auctions, and it is expected to fetch an impressive price when hit the auction block on February 4, 2015 in Paris. The Dino model, originally introduced as a Ferrari co-brand created in tandem with Fiat, was a ground-breaking offering that established numerous firsts for Ferrari.
It was the first Maranello production car to feature rear-mid engine placement and the first to employ a V-6, ideas both drawn from the 206 S and SP prototype race cars of the mid-1960s. Enzo Ferrari’s son, Dino, had been one of the engine’s principal proponents prior to his passing in 1956 and thus was honoured as the new car’s namesake.
The engine’s racing pedigree was only part of the production Dino’s appeal though, as the new 206 GT was clothed in dazzling Pininfarina-designed coachwork. The body, built by Scaglietti, reconciled curvaceous 1950s styling with the wedge motifs that would soon dominate sports car design.
The first debut of the concept form took place at Geneva in March 1965 as the 206 S Speciale, and the Dino entered series production in 1967 with the 206-specification 2.0-litre engine. After a short run of 150 cars, the 206 GT was updated in 1969 with a larger 2.4-litre motor, a displacement that remained unchanged until the Dino’s discontinuation in 1974. The 246 GT was ultimately built in three separate iterations, respectively known as the L-, M-, and E-Series.
The L-Series served as the direct successor to the 206 GT and was built from March of 1969 until October of 1970, accounting for only 357 total examples and considered by connoisseurs as the “bridge” between the 206 and 246 GTs.
This desirable late-production L-Series Dino 246, chassis number 01040, is recorded by Ferrari historian Jarrett Rothmeier as having been completed by the factory on 27 August 1970. It was finished in Rosso Chiaro (20-R-190) with a Nero (161) interior and was supplied within the next few days through Italcar S.p.A. to Holtim Italiana S.A.S., a real estate and construction management concern in Torino, where it was used by Masera Fernando until 1973. The car next passed to the Di Lorenzo family, who kept it for 10 years, and then to Gallina Maria, also of Torino, meaning that it has remained within the city since new.
The car is now finished in Giallo Fly, and it retains its original Italian registration and black number plates, TOH5 7767. The current owner notes that the car has been submitted for Ferrari Classiche certification, and it is offered with a copy of its original Italian libretto.
