Dino (), named after Alfredo "Dino" Ferrari (1932-1956) who died a young age but had championed V6 engines at Ferrari, was first used as name for Ferrari race cars with engines smaller than 12 cylinders. The type came into existence in late 1956 with a front-engined Formula Two racer powered by a Dino V6 engine, and also was used in front-engine open sportscar racers. In 1961, Ferrari adopted the mid-engined, rear-drive layout, putting the V6 behind the driver in both the new 1.5 Liter 156 F1 Formula One as well as in the Ferrari SP series of sportscar racers.
In 1965, Ferrari started to develop two kinds of mid-engine V6 Dino sports cars: one was intended mainly for customers racing in the 2.0 Liter Group 4 Sportscar category that required at least 50 to be built, but too few Dino 206S were made, thus they had to enter as Group 6 Prototype. The other was a road going GT car which used Dino as a brand. To have hundreds of Dino V6 engines built in order to achieve homologation in Formula Two of the time, FIAT built the road car engines, and used it also in Fiat cars, and later in the Lancia Stratos.
The name Dino was used for some models with engines smaller than 12 cylinders, it was an attempt by the company to offer a relatively low-cost sports car. The Ferrari name remained reserved for its premium V12 and flat-12 models until 1976, when "Dino" was retired in favour of full Ferrari branding for the new mid engine V8 GT.
History
The name Dino honors Ferrari founder Enzo Ferrari's late son, Alfredo "Dino" Ferrari, credited with designing the V6 engine used in the 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 Dino script that adorns the badge and cylinder head covers was based on Alfredo's own signature. The Dino models used Ferrari naming convention of displacement and cylinder count with two digits for the size of the engine in decilitres and the third digit to represent the number of cylinders, i.e. 246 being a 2.4-litre, 6-cylinder and 308 being a 3.0-litre, 8-cylinder.
Single seaters
Dino 156 F2
The first race car to ever bear the Dino marque badge was the 1957 Dino 156 F2 single seater intended for the Formula 2 series. It was powered by an all-new, front-mounted, 65° Dino V6 co-designed by Vittorio Jano and named in memory of Enzo Ferrari's late son, Alfredo "Dino" Ferrari. The new V6 engine, first built and tested in 1956, had to adhere to 1.5 litre, Formula 2 regulations.
Total capacity was (bore of 70 mm and stroke of 64.5 mm) and power output was at 9000 rpm with a 10:1 compression ratio. The fuel system consisted of three Weber 38DCN carburettors and used regular fuel. The valvetrain was of a twin overhead camshafts per bank type with two valves per cylinder and single spark plugs.
As per the naming convention, the 1.5-litre, 6-cylinder car was named 156 and made its debut at the Naples Grand Prix in 1957. The chassis was made of steel tubes with independent front suspension, a de Dion rear axle, and Houdaille shock absorbers. Only one example was produced: s/n 0011. Its drivers included Luigi Musso, Maurice Trintignant, and Peter Collins.
Musso managed to score third place at the time of its debut at the Naples GP and Maurice Trintignant won the Coupe de Vitesse. Musso later took two second-place finishes at the Modena GP (in both heats).
The engine was upgraded to 1860 cc in 1957 (later 2195 cc), to 85 x 71 mm at 8500 rpm in 1958 for Formula One specification {and renamed Ferrari 246 F1 ) and in 1959. In 1960 the engine was updated with a lower V-degree (65º>60º), a shorter stroke {73 x 58.8 mm for 1476.6 cc), and a single overhead camshaft.
Dino 166 F2
A change in Formula One rules for the 1966 season brought changes to Formula 2 as well. New homologation requirements meant that at least 500 production units of the same engine block were to be produced. Ferrari turned to Fiat to produce a more affordable sports car for this purpose. Fiat produced two models with the Dino engine in coupé and spider form under the name Fiat Dino. For the 1967 European Championship season Ferrari was able to field a new car, the Dino 166 F2, with a rear-mounted, longitudinal 65° Dino V6 engine. The car made its debut at the Racing Car Show in Turin in February 1967.
Specifications The new powerplant had of total capacity with a bore of 86 mm and a very short stroke at only 45.8 mm with a Heron type 3 valve head. A single split overhead camshaft per bank actuated three valves per cylinder: two inlet directly by the camshaft and one exhaust through a rocker. In 1968, the cylinder measures changed to 79.5 x 53.5 mm () with an 11:1 compression ratio. In 1969, the power grew from at 10,000 rpm to at 11,000 rpm. Fuel feed was by Lucas indirect injection and ignition by Magneti Marelli transistorized twin-plugs, later changed to a single ignition. The chassis was a semi-monocoque with all-independent suspension and disc brakes. Seven cars were built, of which three were later converted for the Tasman race series with engines enlarged to 2.4 litres.
Racing The cars were raced by Ernesto Brambilla, Chris Amon, Andrea de Adamich, and Derek Bell. Their first F2 wins were the 1968 Hockenheim race and later the GP Roma at Vallelunga.
Dino 246T
For the 1968 season of Formula One, Ferrari had returned to the V12 engined cars. This created a need to pursue other racing venues for their already existing projects. The Tasman Series for cars up to 2500 cc was just that venue and the Dino 246T (sometimes referred to as the Ferrari Dino 246T) was just such a car, converted from the Dino 166 Formula 2 basis with the engine enlarged to 2.4 L to meet the requirements without overstretching the engine.
By 1969, the car had been given a rear wing and two smaller wings protruding from the front of the bodywork (as seen in the picture of Chris Amon on his way to winning the 1969 Australian Grand Prix). After having already won the series, At the 7th and final round at Sandown in Melbourne, Amon told reporter Max Stahl that while the wings did help the cars, he would rather that they were done away with altogether.1969 TASMAN SERIES Highlights CHRIS AMON
Specifications The new displacement of was achieved thanks to of bore and stroke. Internal dimensions were identical to that of the 246 F1-66. At an 11.5:1 compression ratio, power output was a healthy at 8,900 rpm. Already standard on 65° Dino V6 twin overhead camshafts per bank, and a novelty: four valves per cylinder. The same as its predecessor, the chassis was a semi-monocoque with all-independent suspension and disc brakes.
In Tasman Series racing, other engines that the Dino V6 was generally up against were the Australian made Repco V8, the Tasman variant of the Cosworth DFV, the ~ Cosworth DFW, a sprint variant of the Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 V8 used in the Alfa Romeo T33/2 Daytona 2.5 Litre endurance racing sports car, the , 2.1L version of the V8 BRM, the older Coventry Climax FPF and FMWV engines and the , 1.6L Cosworth FVA.
Racing Only three cars were made and raced with success between 1968 and 1971, mainly in hands of Chris Amon and Graeme Lawrence. The Tasman Series was particularly suited for the Dino 246T. Chris Amon won two races in the 1968 Tasman Series, including its debut race, the 1968 New Zealand Grand Prix where he also started from pole position. After finishing 2nd to Lotus mounted Jim Clark in 1968, Amon went on to dominate the 1969 Tasman Series by scoring four wins, including wins both blue ribbon events, the 1969 New Zealand Grand Prix at Pukekohe and the 1969 Australian Grand Prix at Lakeside, on his way to winning the Drivers Championship. In 1969 Amon was aided by Derek Bell in the other Scuderia Veloce car with enough points for fourth place. For the 1970 Tasman Series the winning car was handed over to Graeme Lawrence who won only one race but, with four other podium finishes, won the championship.
Race Wins New Zealand Grand Prix 1968 (Chris Amon), 1969 (Chris Amon) Levin International 1968 (Chris Amon), 1969 (Chris Amon), 1970 (Graeme Lawrence) Australian Grand Prix 1969 (Chris Amon) Sandown International 100 1969 (Chris Amon)
Sports racing cars
Dino 196 S
The first sports racing car under Dino marque was 2.0 L Dino V6-engined Dino 196 S. The first example, s/n 0740, was made in 1958 and had a 65° DOHC configuration as found in its Formula Two predecessor and is sometimes referred to as 206 S. The other, s/n 0776 from 1959, had its engine redesigned as a 60° SOHC version. A possible third car was immediately upgraded to 3.0 L specification and never raced it its two-litre form. All early Dino sports cars actually had Ferrari badges on the front.
Specifications Both cars' engines had of total capacity from of bore and stroke. Both used the same carburettor setup with three 42DCN Webers, resulting in the same power output. The differing factors were the RPM range: 7200 for the DOHC, 7800 for both the SOHC engine and a twin spark plug arrangement for the DOHC-variant. Both cars were created on a tubular chassis with independent front suspension and live rear axle. The first car received Scaglietti coachwork, but was soon rebodied by Fantuzzi, who also bodied the second car. Their style was reminiscent of a Ferrari 250 TR and was often referred to as a 'smaller Testa Rossa.'
Racing The first Dino 196 S made its debut at the Goodwood Sussex Trophy and was driven to second place by Peter Collins. After being converted to SOHC form, it scored silver for the 1959 Le Mans Test and a single victory at Coppa Sant Ambroeus. The last race for this car was the 1959 Pontedecimo-Giovi hillclimb in which another second place was achieved before the car was dismantled at the factory. The other Dino had a much longer career. In 1959, driven by Ricardo Rodriguez it finished fourth and second in a couple of races at the Governor's Trophy, Nassau. The following year the car was entered in the Targa Florio and finished seventh overall.
Replicas Numerous replicas had been made of this model. Approximately twelve examples based on a tubular chassis with handcrafted aluminium bodywork in Fantuzzi spider style. Cars were created either by anonymous builders or by Vincenzo Marciano, an Italian private constructor. Power came from 2.4 L four-cam V6 Fiat Dino road car engine mated to a 5-speed ZF transmission.
Dino 296 S
The second Dino-badged sports racing model was the 1958 Dino 296 S. Only a single example, s/n 0746, was made with a near 3-litre V6 engine. It had a 65° configuration with twin overhead camshafts per bank and two spark plugs per cylinder. Total capacity was thanks to internal measurements of 85 x 87 mm. With three Weber 45DCN carburettors, power was an impressive at 7600 rpm.
A tubular steel chassis with independent front suspension, de Dion rear axle and drum brakes was clothed with a spider Fantuzzi bodywork as seen on its siblings from the same period. The fuel tank had 177 litres capacity.
Its first outing was in England at Silverstone Circuit in May 1958, where Mike Hawthorn scored third place. After just a single race the car was converted into an experimental 250 Testa Rossa model and raced in June, the same year, at the 1000km Nürburgring, where Wolfgang von Trips and Olivier Gendebien finished third overall. The model was further raced by Ricardo Rodriguez in the Bahamas and United States.
Dino 246 S
For the 1960 season, Ferrari presented a new derivative of their V6-engined sports racing car, the Dino 246 S. Its engine was closely related to that found in the Ferrari 246 F1 but designed as a 60°, chain-driven, single overhead camshaft per bank variant. Only two examples were ever created, s/n 0778 and 0784, the latter known as the 'high tail' spider.
Specifications