23 June 2023
Alfredo ‘Dino’ Ferrari, the eldest son of Enzo Ferrari, along with engineer Vittorio Jano Alfredo somehow persuaded the ‘old man’ to build a series of race cars with V6 and V8 engines.
Dino suggested the development of a V6 engine for F2 at the end of 1955. Soon after, Alfredo fell gravely ill and was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy.
Dino would never live to see the engine; he died on June 30, 1956, at 24.
Jump forward to 1968, Ferrari was under pressure to launch a ’lower-priced’ sports car to take on Lamborghini, and Porsche, especially the 911.
Using a V6 mid-mounted car was alien to all that Enzo stood for, a staunch 12-cylinder, front-engined evangelist.
Moreover, he wanted to avoid risking the Ferrari name since less-expensive sports cars would have to be fitted with less-powerful engines.
Therefore, he created a separate marque called ‘Dino’.
Buyers were disheartened that the cars did not have the prancing horse logo.
Rumour has it that American car dealers put Ferrari stickers on Dino models on their own accord because it was the only way they could persuade customers to buy them.
The history of the Dino marque ended in 1976 at the behest of the Fiat Group:
The last car to receive the Dino badge was the 308 GT4 in 1973.
The V6 made place for a 3.0-litre V8, and the Ferrari badge replaced the Dino badge.
