Lot Ended
Description
One of only 420 made; recent engine rebuild by Dino specialist
which cost £17k and only 60 miles since; lots of history; matching numbers;
all the pedigree of a Ferrari Dino 246GT at a fraction of the
price!
The Fiat Dino
came about because Enzo Ferrari needed a new engine eligible for Formula 2
racing. This could have no more than six cylinders and 2,000cc and had to be
derived from a production engine used in a road car which had sold at least 500
examples within the last 12 months.
As
Ferrari did not have the production capacity to achieve this quota, Enzo struck
a deal with Fiat who agreed to put the four-cam 2.0 V6 in a new model called the
Dino. Styled by Pininfarina, the open-top Spider version made its debut at the
October 1966 Turin Motor Show, while a Bertone-styled 2+2 Coupe followed hot on
its heels at the March 1967 Geneva Motor Show. Ferrari also put the engine in
its new mid-engined Dino 206GT (another Pininfarina masterpiece) and the 500
sales target was soon met.
In 1969 the engine
was enlarged to 2.4 and was installed in both the Fiat Dino Spider 2400 and in
the Ferrari Dino 246GT. Producing 180bhp and allied to a 5-speed ZF manual
gearbox, it could propel either car to 60mph in under 8 seconds with a top speed
of 130mph and a suitably Ferrari soundtrack.
Unlike the 2.0 cars, the Fiat Dino 2.4 was built at Ferrari’s
Maranello factory and gained some useful improvements including coil-sprung
independent rear suspension, bigger brakes and an uprated cooling system. Only
420 Fiat Dino Spider 2400 models were made, all in LHD, before production came
to an end in 1972, survivors being highly prized today.
First registered in Italy in July 1971, this Fiat Dino Spider 2400
(chassis no. 1470) subsequently found its way to South Africa where it was owned
by a collector, Mr Brian Mortimer, who had it restored to concours standard in
the 1980s. A four-page feature on the car in a January 1991 issue of
Motoring News recounts how Mortimer (who owned at least two other
Dinos) also had the engine uprated with special cams and high compression
pistons which upped the power to 195bhp.
In 1994
Mortimer had the car shipped to the UK where it was sold at auction by
Sotheby’s, the catalogue description stating that it was “one of the best Dino
Spiders we have seen”.
The next owner was a Mr R
Beckwith of Sussex who promptly sent it to Ferrari specialist Superformance of
Hainault for major service and check-over. This included an overhaul of the
brakes, steering and suspension; new fuel pumps; carbs overhauled; new cam cover
gaskets; new seat belts plus much else besides, all detailed in invoices on
file. The indicated mileage at this point was 63,498 kms (39,500
miles).
In March 1995 the Dino was offered for
sale by Richard Banks (of Alfaholics fame) where it was acquired by a Mr I
Cartlidge, founder/owner of a prestigious London-based design
studio.
He also had the car maintained by
Superformance including a cylinder head rebuild to make it suitable for unleaded
fuel; rebuilt ignition system; new Koni front shocks; new stainless steel
exhaust system; full waxoil treatment plus various other jobs. He used the car
regularly until 2006, adding some 24,400 kms to the odometer before putting it
into storage where it was kept on SORN for the next five years.
Our
vendor acquired the car in early 2011 by which point it had 88,800 kms on the
clock and was safely tucked away in a private car park under The Barbican
alongside a Ferrari Dino 246GT also owned by Mr Cartlidge.
A serial Italian car collector who has owned over a dozen other
Dinos, our vendor was already familiar with this car, having been out in it
several times when it was owned by Brian Mortimer in South Africa – another
reason he was keen to buy it because he recalled how quick it was compared to
most other Dinos due to the engine upgrades.
He
went right through the car to address any issues due to lack of recent use. This
included a full rebuild of the triple Weber carbs; rebuilt distributor; brake
calipers rebuilt plus various other jobs all detailed in invoices on file. The
car was then lightly used over the next 10 years, covering some 5,600 kms as
documented by old MOTs on file.
In 2021 disaster
struck when the engine (which is the original unit fitted to the car) developed
a fault. This turned out to be caused by an incompetent repair in the past which
had allowed excess silicon sealant to enter the internal oilways and block the
oil feed to the camshafts. The fault was diagnosed by ex-Rolls-Royce engineer
Neale Shepherd, well-known in Dino circles and who had previously rebuilt three
other Dino engines for our vendor.
His
incredibly detailed report on the engine runs to many pages (including photos of
the damage caused by the offending silicon sealant) and makes for fascinating
reading. The meticulous rebuild that followed is equally well-documented and
will keep the new owner happily engrossed for hours.
To cut a long story short, the block was stripped of every component,
chemically dipped and meticulously rebuilt, the machining being done by Chesman
Engineering with final assembly by Shepherd. This included new high compression
pistons; bearings; con rods; camshafts; timing chains; oil pump; balanced crank
and flywheel; new clutch kit; recored radiator plus a multitude of other parts.
Rest assured, it was an extremely thorough job which took over 200 hours and
cost over £17,000.
Since the engine was rebuilt
the car has only covered around 100 kms and will require a careful running-in
period before the performance is exploited to the full. As you might imagine,
the car has been starting promptly and running beautifully as we have moved it
around on site, with good 60psi oil pressure.
Fitted with a rare and lovely vintage Momo Moretti steering wheel, it
also retains the original Fiat steering wheel and rides on the correct Cromodora
14” alloy wheels (including spare). It also retains its original complete tool
kit and wheel-changing kit (super-rare and very expensive to replace). A Fiat
Archivio dating certificate is also present.
As
you can see in the photos, this well-historied and thoroughly rejuvenated Dino
Spider is an achingly pretty machine. Finished in its original shade of Rosso
Vivio (code 152 on the chassis plate), all that lets the side down is the
quality of the paint finish which has some imperfections here and there,
particularly on the front panel above the o/s headlights.
With all the pedigree of the Dino 246GT but at a fraction of the
price, the Fiat Dino Spider 2400 is widely tipped for future growth, the very
best examples already making over $200k at auction in America, compared to
$500k+ for the Dino 246GT.
Believed to be one of
only 10 in the UK (including another owned by our vendor), this exceedingly rare
and beautiful Spider is well worth a look at the sensible guide price
suggested.
Consigned by James Dennison –
07970 309907 – james.dennison@brightwells.com
* All charges are subject to VAT