There are many cars that are viewed by people as iconic but the Ferrari Dino 246 GT is quite simply one that sits head and shoulders above most. This week commercial car photographer Tim Wallace was commissioned to shoot the infamous 246 GT for a commercial shoot to capture it beauty and its emotion.
The name “Dino” honors the founder’s late son, Alfredo “Dino” Ferrari, who was credited with the design of the V6 engine. Along with famed engineer, Vittorio Jano, Dino influenced Enzo Ferrari’s decision to produce a line of racing cars in the 1950s, with V6 and V8 engine designs. History shows that Alfredo Ferrari did not have a hand in the actual design of the V6 motor that made its way into the Dino.
The “Dino” brand was created to market a lower priced, “affordable” sports car. The first brochure described the Dino as “almost a Ferrari”. Ferrari intended to do battle in the marketplace with Porsche and its 911. The more expensive road going Ferrari V12′s of the time were no match at their much higher price point. But Enzo did not want to diminish the Ferrari brand with a cheaper car, and so “Dino” was born.
Derek Bell’s Ferrari Dino 166 Formula 2, practice for the Eifelrennen at the Nürburgring, 1969In addition to being a lower priced, “affordable” sports car, it was a car built in Alfredo’s honor after he lost his battle with muscular dystrophy. While in hospital, he discussed technical details with the engineer Vittorio Jano. Dino would never see the engine; he died on June 30, 1956 at the age of only 24, before his namesake automobiles Fiat Dino and Dino were produced.
