FIAT

Dino

The Fiat Dino exists because of a homologation problem: in the mid-1960s Enzo Ferrari needed to build at least 500 examples of a new V6 engine to qualify it for Formula 2 racing, far more than his small factory could absorb, so Ferrari struck a deal with Fiat to mass-produce the engine and install it in a road car. The result was the Fiat Dino, launched at the 1966 Turin Motor Show as an open Spider, with a handsome closed Coupe following at Geneva in 1967. In a delicious twist of Italian design rivalry, the Fiat Dino Spider was styled by Pininfarina and the Coupe by Bertone, where a young Marcello Gandini did the honours. At its heart sat the same glorious Dino V6 found in the Ferrari Dino, initially a 2.0-litre all-alloy unit and from 1969 a larger, more robust 2.4-litre iron-block version that also brought independent rear suspension borrowed from the Fiat 130. Built in relatively small numbers, the Fiat Dino comprised roughly three-quarters Coupes and one-quarter Spiders, with the rare 2400 Spider, of which only around 420 were made, being the most coveted of all. When production ended in 1973, just 7,803 examples of the Fiat Dino had been built. Long overlooked in the shadow of its Ferrari cousin, the Fiat Dino is now celebrated as a genuine Ferrari-powered bargain, and values of the best Spiders have climbed sharply as collectors recognise its rare blend of Fiat practicality and Ferrari soul.