1972 Ferrari 246 GT Dino

Ferrari Dino 246 GT is one of the most success models created by Ferrari, a product-that was able to go head to head with Porsche’s ultra successful 911-model. 

However, it is quite ironic that the Ferrari Dino 246 GT was actually produced due-to the company’s hesitation to create a mid-engine car using the usual specs of a Ferrari. At that time, consumer cars have their engines at the-rear of the car, the part that is now called the back compartment. Cars with the engines in front-came much later, but mid-engine designs were already used at that point when the Ferrari Dino 246 GT was being-developed.

Since the Ferrari Dino 246 GT was developed as a consumer car and not exactly a-racing car, founder and company head Enzo Ferrari was not sure if a mid-engine car was a good design idea for road cars. For professional drivers and for racing purposes,-it was deemed satisfactory, as many Ferrari mid-engine cars turned out to be racing winners (the 156 F1 which won the 1961 Grand Prix and the 250 P-which won the 1963 Le Mans). But for customers, he thought it was dangerous, especially with-Ferrari’s trademark V-12 engines.

Still, in the end, Enzo relented, although he allowed a mid-engine design for the Dino line and not the actual Ferraris. This is how the Dino was born. The-Ferrari Dino used a six-cylinder engine rather than the usual powerful V-12, thinking that the reduced power would make it safer for consumers. The first Dino, the 206 GT,-was successful with its run, but it was the 1971 Ferrari Dino 246 GT that was able to really compete-with better known sports car from the company’s competitors. In fact, many say that the 1971-Ferrari Dino 246 GT was the answer of Ferrari to the remodeled Porsche 911. At that time, the 911-had its engines increased, so Ferrari thought it was only natural their Dino has an engine-improvement too.

In terms of physical attributes, the 1972 Ferrari Dino 246 GT was hard to-differentiate from the 206 GT. This is usually the case with Ferrari car updates; because they were-usually updated too fast and too often, the changes in the designs became hard to distinguish. What-wasn’t hard to distinguish was its power. It has a longer wheelbase and a very powerful-engine, making this mid-engine design one of the best ever produced, as deemed by critics. Some automobile journalists even-said that the 1972 Ferrari Dino 246 GT made other car designs—the rear end engine and the-front-engined cars—useless. Obviously, Enzo Ferrari’s assumption was wrong, but this mistake-in judgment actually created one of the best Ferrari models of all time. It was Ferrari’s-series best seller, with a production of more than 4,000 cars for both Dino models.- 

Of course, almost every commercially available car today is front-engined, but the chance that Ferrari made really made a difference.

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