1959 Ferrari Dino 246 Sport Spider

Ex-Works/ North American Racing Team
Coachwork by Carrozzeria Fantuzzi

Chassis no. 0778
Engine no. 0778
Price on request

This week,s Featured Ferrari is For sale by Kidston

The Creme de la Creme of Post-war Sports-Racing Cars
Ultre Rare, One of just Three Built
Ex-Works History With Charismatic Star Drivers
Race Ready, Competitive and Eligible For World Class Events and Tours

The Dino story started on 19th January 1932 when Enzo Ferrari’s wife, Laura, gave birth to their only child, Alfredino, who became known affectionately by the diminutive of his name ‘Dino’. Unfortunately he was not a strong child, suffering poor health with debilitating muscular dystrophy, eventually dying of nephritis when only 24 years old on 30th June 1956. Despite his constantly deteriorating health he worked at the Ferrari factory on various projects, one of the last of which is reputed to have been a V6 engine design with the talented engineer Vittorio Jano. Thus when the engine was eventually built in 1957, Enzo Ferrari dedicated the type and its V8 derivatives to the memory of his son, and they became known as Dino engines, with Dino script on the cam covers in the style of his son’s signature, although the cars that they were installed in wore Ferrari badges. In 1958 the V6 Dino engine powered Ferrari F1 cars to their first Manufacturers’ Championship, with team driver Mike Hawthorn taking the drivers’ title, the first British driver to do so.

The first Ferrari sports racing car to be fitted with a V6 Dino engine was a 2.0 litre quad cam model built on chassis ‘0740’ in 1958, followed by a 2.9 litre variant on chassis ‘0746’ a month later. Both these cars were left-hand drive and had 65 degree V6 engines, similar in overall layout to the first 1.5 litre F2 Dino engine that had made its race debut in early 1957. The 2.0 litre sports racing car made its race debut at Goodwood, England, in April 1958, where Peter Collins finished 2nd in the Sussex Trophy race. The second example, chassis ‘0746’, with the 2.9 litre engine, also made its debut in England. This time it was at the Silverstone circuit in May 1958, where Mike Hawthorn finished 3rd in the sports car event supporting the F1 Daily Express Trophy Race, which, incidentally, was won by Peter Collins in a Dino 246 F1 model. Chassis ‘0746’ was later fitted with a 250 Testa Rossa 3 litre V12 engine, and enjoyed success in the Bahamas and USA in the hands of Pedro and Ricardo Rodriguez, and later in the hands of George Constantine.

The next chapter in the Dino engined sports racing car story was in March 1959, when a single cam per bank, 2.0 litre, 60 degree version of the V6 engine was fitted into what is believed was the original chassis ‘0740’. In its new form the car featured some revisions to the Scaglietti bodywork and was fitted with disc brakes, but by the time it made its first race appearance the body had been changed again, as it was now virtually identical to the 1959 Testa Rossa. It won its first race, the Coppa Sant’Ambroeus at Monza on 3rd May 1959 driven by Giulio Cabianca, but thereafter its racing glory went downhill, with retirements for a variety of reasons. The only redemption came in its final known competition appearance at the Auto Club Genova-organised Pontedecimo – Giovi hillclimb on 20th September 1959, where Giorgio Scarlatti finished 2nd overall.

Late in 1959, the 1960 versions of the Dino sports racing model went into production. They were virtually identical to the final version of the earlier car, but now featured right- hand drive making their visual similarity to the concurrent 250 Testa Rossa even greater. The likeness was such that the only easy way to tell the difference was to count the number of intake trumpets under the Plexiglass scoop on the bonnet. Three examples were constructed, all featuring Fantuzzi built bodies: chassis numbers ‘0776’, ‘0778’ and ‘0784’. The last of these, ‘0784’, was subsequently re-bodied in the early sixties in a style similar to that then being employed on the last of the front engine Testa Rossa models, albeit without the nostril nose configuration.

Chassis ‘0776’ was the first of the series to appear in competition, when it was entered by NART and driven by upcoming Mexican star Ricardo Rodriguez in the Bahamas in December 1959, recording a 2nd, 4th and a DNS in the three races entered. Chassis ‘0778’ made its debut as a Ferrari works entry just over a month later in Buenos Aires, where it was driven by Argentine veteran Froilan Gonzales and debonair Italian Ludovico Scarfiotti, but it retired with reported ignition problems. Both cars next appeared at the Targa Florio in May 1960, along with the third of the trio, the works entered chassis ‘0784’ on its maiden outing. This race was to provide the Dinos with their greatest success in a major international event: despite various outings into the scenery Phil Hill/ Wolfgang von Trips finished 2nd overall in chassis ‘0784’, Scarfiotti/ Mairesse/ Cabianca brought chassis ‘0778’ home 4th and the NART-entered chassis ‘0776’ driven by Pedro and Ricardo Rodriguez finished 7th despite having had frequent contact with immovable objects and being rolled!

Chassis ‘0778’ suffered worse still when at the Nürburgring 1000km race in May 1960 it caught fire in a well documented refuelling incident in the pit lane, melting most of the rear and left side of the aluminium body, leaving the skeleton frame exposed. However, it was rebuilt by the Ferrari factory during the remainder of the year and then sold to Luigi Chinetti’s North American Racing Team (NART) at the beginning of 1961. It was raced once by them at the 12 Hours of Sebring in March 1961, where it finished 5th overall driven by Hall/ Constantine taking the S-11 class victory in the process. In passing, the ‘Hall’ in the driving duo of ‘0778’ was a young Jim Hall who would later become an American legend with his ground breaking Chaparral sports racing cars. In its known subsequent races in the USA, ‘0778’ is believed to have been in 2 litre form (see Race History section, Note B), with the original 2.4 litre engine being put into storage by Luigi Chinetti.

The car was reunited with this 2.4 litre engine in 1997 when it was restored by Terry Hoyle in the UK, with a variety of modifications instigated by the then owner (see Ownership Chain, Note 3). In around 2006 the current UK based owner had the majority of these modifications deleted, and the car was in the main returned to its original configuration. The essential elements of this work were to restore the driver’s foot well and pedal box assembly to the original layout, to fit correct pattern exhaust manifolds, remove the roll hoop, and return the clutch and its operation to the original configuration. The alternator and safety fuel cell fitted during the restoration have been retained. In the current ownership the car has been meticulously maintained and has been successfully used in historic racing, where it has established itself as a force in its class. In the interests of safety it is understood that the Borrani wire wheels have recently been refurbished. Also, in the interests of safety and security, a fire extinguisher system is installed with the canister in the passenger side of the cockpit in front of the seat, plumbed to discharge in the engine bay and fuel pump area beneath the fuel tank.

This Dino 246 S has a similar appearance to the much sought-after ‘59/60 250 Testa Rossa; in reality it is rarer, as only three Dinos were built in this series, one 196 S and two 246 S models, and chassis ‘0778’ is the only 246 S remaining in this desirable body style. It also offers great performance, not far short of that of its larger 3 litre V12 cousin but at a more attractive price.

For More Information Please Contact:
Kidston SA
7, Avenue Pictet-de-Rochemont
1207 Geneva - Switzerland
Tel. +41 22 740 1939
Fax. +41 22 740 194

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