Introduced at the Turin Motor Show in 1967, the all-new Dino 206GT was initiated due to the need of a Formula 2 power plant for Ferrari's racing program. A mid-engined layout with a compact, aluminum coupe body was chosen, with styling entrusted to the legendary Pininfarina. The two-liter, 180bhp motor was good enough to propel the Dino to 142mph, and while there were few complaints about the car's performance, the high cost mandated by its aluminum construction hindered sales. 

A 2.4-liter version on a longer wheelbase - the 246GT - replaced the Dino 206 in late 1969. The body was now steel and the cylinder block cast-iron rather than aluminum, but the bigger engine's increased power - 195bhp at 7,500rpm - was adequate compensation for the weight gain. A Targa-top version, the 246GTS, followed in 1972. While not quite as fast in a straight line as its larger V12-engined stable-mates, the nimble Dino was capable of showing almost anything a clean pair of heels over twisty going. 

Testing the ultimate V6-engined Dino – the 246GT – in 1972, the authoritative American motoring magazine Road & Track enthused, "it is a thrill to drive a car like the Dino, one whose capabilities are far beyond what even an expert driver can use in most real-world motoring, and that is the Dino's reason for being. The real joy of a good mid-engined car is in its handling and braking and the Dino shone as we expected it to. The steering is quick without being super quick, and it transmits by what seems a carefully planned amount of feedback exactly what is going on at the tires. Thanks to the layout's low polar moment of inertia the car responds instantly to it. The Dino's cornering limits are very high..." The Dino, thus, was and remains truly a driver's car par excellence.

As the first series-produced, mid-engined Ferraris, the early Dino V6s are landmark cars. The line they founded would prove to be an immense commercial success for Maranello, production amounting to 2,487 GT coupes and 1,274 GTS spiders by the time the model was deleted in June of 1974. 

 

This example was a favorite personal car from mr.Theodore N. Charagionis founder and owner of Hellenic Motor Museum.