1972 | Ferrari Dino 246 GT

Highlights

A genuine time-warp example, with a mere four custodians from new, the second of whom owned it from 1973 to 2007

Ferrari Classiche certified, confirming its matching-numbers chassis, engine and gearbox

Retaining its original Black leatherette interior

Accompanied by its ultra-rare original warranty card, service book, owner’s manual, spare parts catalogue, leather pouch, spare key, tool roll and jack

Scrupulously documented in a wonderful history file, including its original Ferrari invoice, detailed hand-written journey logs, owner correspondence and a multitude of maintenance invoices

Right-hand drive, delivered new to the United Kingdom via Maranello Concessionaires

Youthquake
Few cars scream 1970s sex appeal like the Ferrari 246 Dino GT, a model conceived to inject some welcomed sporting youth into a 12-cylinder range which very much appealed to the marque’s older clientele.

How beautiful is that sultry soap-bar body? It could only be the work of Pininfarina, which, in the face of the angular geometric trends of the time, still managed to make it look fresh and contemporary. Arguably the best bit about the Dino is that it is every bit as good to drive as it is to look at. And that’s something that certainly can’t be said of every late-1960s/early-1970s sports car.

Chassis no. 03148

As evidenced by the accompanying correspondence between Maranello Concessionaires in England and the Ferrari factory, this final-development E-series 246 Dino GT – chassis number 03148 – was originally finished in Rosso Chiaro Ferrari (20-R-190) over a Nero (161) interior. The only optional extra noted was the electric windows.

Ordered in December of 1971 by Maranello Concessionaires and supplied to the Jersey Ferrari agent Henry Linton Cars in March of 1972, this Dino was acquired new by one Mervyn Frankel. Mervyn Frankel is the father of the veteran automotive journalist Andrew Frankel, who recalls chassis 03148 as the very first Ferrari he ever saw in the metal as an impressionable boy.

In 2021 we had the privilege of reuniting Andrew with his father’s old car – an unforgettable occasion which he chronicled in a truly wonderful story on The Intercooler. You can read the full piece by CLICKING HERE, though here’s an extract for now.

“Though I was just six at the time, my memories of that Ferrari are seared on my memory. I remember sitting in both seats, waggling the wheel and stirring the stick in one when my father wasn’t looking, and being mesmerised by the sight of those front wings rising up before me in the other. And the noise. Oh that noise: a 2418cc 65-degree V6 with four chain driven camshafts fed by a trio of downdraft Weber carburettors. It has stayed with me forever.”

We digress. In the face of a global financial crisis, Frankel Snr. was forced to sell the Dino after just a year of ownership. Having completed its two initial complimentary services as per the accompanying original Warranty Card, chassis number 03148 was sold to the industrial magnate John Paul Gardner in March of 1973 and registered in the United Kingdom with the number ‘ETV 48L’. It’s the registration this Dino retains to this day.

Gardner was a keen driver and entered the Dino in both the Curborough Sprint Event and the Wiscombe Park Speed Hill Climb. In addition to his impressions from these events, Gardner fastidiously recorded the details of every journey he undertook with this Ferrari and any maintenance in a small blue notebook.

The detail is quite extraordinary. For example, in April of 1975, he notes that the spark plugs were replaced, the contact breaker points were reset and all four wheels and brakes were removed for thorough cleaning.

Gardner continued to chronicle his ownership of this Dino – a period that would span 34 years and some 16,000 miles. When he finally decided to part with chassis number 03148, Gardner was interviewed about his time with the car. “Apart from outings to the AMOC Curborough Sprint and AMOC Wiscombe Hillclimb, the car has not been used competitively,” he recalled. “Taken off road for various periods, ‘ETV 48L’ has never been driven in the winter and only occasionally has she been out in the rain when the weather forecast proved inaccurate!”

This Ferrari changed hands for just the second time in November of 2007. In 2011, its third and penultimate owner submitted chassis number 03148 for Ferrari Classiche certification – certification it duly received, confirming the matching-numbers engine, gearbox and body, in addition to the original specification.

We had the pleasure of finding this 246 GT a new home in the summer of 2021. And satisfyingly, chassis 03418’s fourth and current owner has used and enjoyed the car, all the while continuing where its previous owners left off and always maintaining it regardless of cost. Owing to a permanent move abroad, said owner has now entrusted us, once again, with rehoming this most beguiling of Ferraris.

Beguiling really is the word to describe the condition of this Dino. Especially inside, where the leatherette upholstery has aged incredibly well. The headlining is taught and not sagging at all, and the mouse-hair dash has not faded as much as other examples we’ve encountered. The 8-track stereo remains functional and in the glovebox you’ll find cassettes to suit most 1970s tastes. Peer behind the steering wheel at the column and you’ll even find the sealed customs tag from when the car was originally imported to the United Kingdom.

It should go without saying that chassis number 03418 retains all its accompanying factory paraphernalia: its spare key, tool roll, jack (complete with leather pouch), and leather books pouch, containing the warranty card, service book, owner’s manual and spare-parts catalogue. The latter documents are all in excellent condition – a credit to the car’s former keepers.

Finding unrestored 1970s Ferraris in such condition and with such provenance today is an increasingly rare occurrence, which goes some way to explain why we’re so excited by this Dino. Chassis 03148 is certainly a car that needs to be seen in the metal to be truly appreciated.

We’ll let Andrew Frankel have the final word. “Every Dino I’ve driven has been different and this one is just better: it feels quick in a way no Dino ever has, its driveline gloriously precise and lacking in shunt, its gearchange beautifully easy but with no slack nor sign of synchro wear. It’s just one of the good ones, and you get them from time to time, particularly in cars from an era and a factory where no two were ever quite the same.”

Price: £340,000 (GBP)