Rare and beautiful Dino heads to Race Retro auction

By Marc McLaren

| 5 Feb 2019

Rare and beautiful Dino heads to Race Retro auction

A Ferrari Dino 246GT that’s one of only a handful finished in stunning Azzuro Dino will be one of the star lots at Silverstone Auctions’ next sale.

The 1972 Dino is actually doubly rare: not only is it clothed in a particularly uncommon – and fetching – shade, but it’s also one of a mere 235 RHD examples. Oh, and as if that wasn’t enough it once graced the cover of Classic & Sports Car magazine.

Now it’s being offered for sale by Silverstone Auctions at the Race Retro Classic Car Sale later this month – but it won’t come cheap.

The Dino is one of only 235 RHD examples and only a couple finished in Azzuro Dino

The 246GT was delivered new in December 1971 with a Nero leather interior plus optional radio, nose bar and electric windows.

In 1991, when still stabled with its first owner, it was treated to a major overhaul including an engine rebuild and paint refresh. That combination of rare colour, originality and provenance then led to it being selected as the ‘Definitive Dino’ by the Haynes National Motor Museum, and exhibited there in 2010, five years after it had been sold to only its second custodian.

A few years after that, in November 2012, it featured as the cover star of Classic & Sports Car magazine – alongside a Ferrari Dino 308GT4 – and it was also once described by Autocar as “one of the one hundred most beautiful cars in pictures”.

The November 2012 cover of Classic & Sports Car magazine

With another £10,000 worth of work carried out on it last year – including an overhaul of its suspension and brakes, plus new seats, carpets, and a dashboard and interior re-trim – and with a mere 51,786 miles under its belt, it goes to auction in fantastic condition. All of which helps to explain its rather hefty £240-280,000 estimate…

“This stunning E-Series Dino has to be one of the most original and unmolested 246GTs anywhere,” said Silverstone Auctions’ general manager Guy Lees-Milne.

“The Dino is a very popular model among Ferrari enthusiasts, and given that this is one of so few finished in the stunning Azzuro Dino blue and has been Classiche awarded, it’s a perfect example for collectors.”

The Silverstone Auctions sale takes place at Race Retro powered by Motor Sport at Stoneleigh Park on 23 February. You can view a full lot list here.

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