From 1947 to 1965, the core product of Ferrari remained the front-engine race and road cars. Pininfarina revealed the first Ferrari with a mid-engine layout at the 1965 Paris Motor Show which became the base car for the iconic Dino series. Some 50 years later, its reintroduction is a popular topic!
Personally, I would love to see a modernized Ferrari Dino! Both the Monza SP1 and Monza SP2 are proof that Ferrari knows what they are doing when reincarnating legendary cars from their extensive heritage. We at ROSSO cannot wait to see the future Icona cars!
Becoming part of the Ferrari family is a dream for many, but reality for just a limited amount of people. If Ferrari decides to build and offer a more affordable way of joining the Ferrari family, the Dino would be the perfect way to do so. The entry-Ferrari at this point is the Portofino, which starts at a steep €190.000.
Ferrari is currently developing their V6 by producing engines for the Maserati and Alfa Romeo cars, but it would be a shame if they only use their expertise for other brands.
Let’s take a look at recent developments that could indicate that Ferrari is indeed bringing back the Dino.
Ferrari patented a targa sports car
The original Dino came in a coupe and convertible version. The latter was a targa variant: a body style with a removable roof section and a full-width roll bar behind the seats. In early August of this year Ferrari patented a removable targa roof panel on a coupé sports car with a small but significantly important insert near the front windscreen which should reduce the air flow. An interesting detail about this patent is that it states that the car would be relatively easy and cheap to produce.
The Ferrari F355 GTS is the last mass-market car with a targa body from Maranello. Throughout the years, they produced limited targa cars such as the 599 SA Aperta and LaFerrari Aperta, but this patent is the evidence for a low-entry targa Ferrari.
Ferrari is testing 6-cylinder cars
The whole reason why Enzo Ferrari decided to sell his mid-engine cars without the Ferrari badge is that he didn’t feel like the 6-cylinders weren’t doing any good for his brand. His son, who prematurely passed away, was more interested in building 4- and 6-cylinder engines. Enzo realised he had to come out with a more affordable Ferrari because of competition from Porsche’s 911.
During an investor presentation in September, Ferrari revealed the outlines for its strategy for the upcoming five years. Besides working on new powertrains and hybrid technology, Chief Technical Officer Michael Leiters revealed that Ferrari has been working on a new V6 power plant.
At this point, it’s still unclear if those V6 engines will be used by the prancing horse itself. Ferrari currently makes a 3.0-L V6 for Maserati and a 2.9-L V6 for the Alfa Quadrifoglio cars. The brand is known for their engine-building expertise; they even won Engine of the Year two times in a row, which is the confirmation that Ferrari knows what they are doing.
Ferrari has to obey emission laws
Building sports cars and trying to live by the increasingly strict emissions laws is not just sunshine and rainbows. Sadly, even the most desirable automaker needs to think about their contributions to environmental pollution. The V6 engine could help Ferrari meet emission and fuel economy requirements in various parts of the world.
Should Ferrari bring back the Dino? Or is it better left untouched?
Written by Max Lammers.
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