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Car Tales: Dino's, Enzo Ferrari's Filial Tribute!

‘The Ferrari Dino range was a marque developed by the Italian supercar specialists for the mid-engined, rear-drive sports cars it created from 1957. Produced from 1973 to April 1980, the 308 GT4 Dino was Ferrari’s first V-8 production automobile.
1975 Ferrari 308GT4 Dino for sale
‘A 2+2 (it squeezed an extra pair of seats into a wheelbase only 21cm longer than the Dino 246), the 308’s angular wedge shape was utterly dissimilar to the 206/246 from which it was first derived.

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‘It also had a gorgeous open-gate five-speed manual gearbox; 0-62mph was just under seven seconds and there was a top speed of 158mph.
1975 Ferrari 308GT4 Dino side view
‘Moreover, the origin of the Dino range was extremely close to the heart of Enzo Ferrari, the founder of the luxury firm. For it was named after Alfredo Ferrari, the Italian automotive engineer and the first son of Enzo, who was nicknamed Alfredino which itself reduces to Dino.
‘The ‘Dino’ marque had come into existence in late 1956 with a front-engined Formula Two racer powered by a brand new ‘Dino’ V6 engine. The name Dino was used for some models with engines smaller than 12 cylinders, an attempt by the company to offer a relatively low-cost sports car.
Along with engineer Vittorio Jano, Alfredo persuaded his father to produce a line of racing cars in the 1950s with V6 and V8 engines. The Ferrari name remained reserved for its premium V12 and flat-12 models until 1976, when the Dino name was retired in favor of full Ferrari branding.
‘From an early age Enzo groomed his eldest son to be his successor. Alfredo studied economics in Bologna before moving to mechanical engineering in Switzerland. And in his short career at Ferrari, Alfredo was widely credited for the 750 Monza race car and to a limited extent for a 1.5-liter V6 that would later see action in Ferrari’s early Formula racers.
1975 Ferrari 308GT4 Dino interior
‘But tragedy loomed. Born on 19 January 1932, Dino Ferrari passed away on 30 June 1956, having been afflicted with muscular dystrophy. After his son’s death, and in his honor, Enzo Ferrari gave the name ‘Dino’ to the car that was fitted with the engine that Alfredo was working on at the time of his death.
‘The Dino script that adorns the badge and cylinder head covers was based on Alfredo’s own signature. The Dino models employed the Ferrari naming convention of displacement and cylinder count with two digits for the size of the engine in deciliters and the third digit to represent the number of cylinders, i.e. 246 being a 2.4-liter, 6-cylinder and 308 being a 3.0-liter, 8-cylinder.
1975 Ferrari 308GT4 Dino engine
‘At the moment at Beverly Hills Car Club we have one of the later versions of the Dino brand, a 1975 Ferrari 308 GT4 Dino in Argento Auteil with a red interior. The 308 GT4 comes equipped with a 5-speed manual transmission, ac, power windows, 4-wheel disc brakes, jack, and spare tire. This is a highly desirable and collectible Italian sports car that is mechanically sound.
‘The 308 GT4, a groundbreaking model for Ferrari in several ways, was Ferrari’s first V-8 production automobile; its mid-engined V8 layout would become the bulk of the company’s business in the succeeding decades. Considering all the designs they had provided for Ferrari, Pininfarina was distressed by the decision to give their cross-town rival Bertone the design of what became the 308 GT4. But with this Bertone design, in which Enzo Ferrari took a personal role in the look of the car, the 308’s distinctive angular wedge shape was unsurprisingly decidedly different from the Pininfarina-designed 206/246 from which it was derived.
‘From the cockpit of the 308 GT4, for example, the driver sees only the road: Enzo Ferrari had had a mock-up made where he could sit in the car to test different steering, pedals and cockpit seating positioning. In fact, Bertone’s single production Ferrari, the 308 GT4, was quite sober and restrained, although indubitably futuristic.
‘But don’t misjudge it – it’s still a bewitching car. Moreover, the styling has aged beautifully: it feels like an authentic 1970s’ supercar experience.
‘And the Ferrari 308 GT4 Dino takes a sense of occasion with it everywhere it goes.
-Alex Manos, Owner
Ferrari 308GT4 Dino Buyer Alex Manos

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