Page 1 of 2 Next >> At Ferrari's annual pre-season press conference in February of 1966, the Italian manufacturer launched not one but two new sports racers. Attracting most of the attention was the achingly beautiful 330 P3, which was the company's latest Le Mans challenger. Next to it was what seemed to be a scaled down version of the V12 racer. Known as the 206 S Dino, it was designed to comply with the Group 4 GT regulations and built to take on Porsche both on the track and in the showroom.
Apart from the fantastic Piero Drogo styled body, the 206 S Dino actually consisted of mostly very familiar components. The two litre engine fitted was a direct development of the V6 originally developed by Vittorio Jano in 1957 and named after Enzo's late son Alfredo 'Dino' Ferrari. The compact unit had since shown its worth, powering both single seater racers and sports cars to major victories. In its latest guise, it displaced 1,987 cc and equipped with Lucas fuel injection, it produced around 220 bhp.
The new Dino's chassis followed familiar Ferrari lines, consisting of a tubular steel spaceframe with stressed aluminium and fibreglass panels to create a 'semi-monocoque'. Suspension was also conventional with double wishbones, coil springs and telescopic shock absorbers on all four corners. Mated to a five-speed gearbox, the V6 engine was mounted amidships in the chassis. With the lovely Drogo body fitted, the 206 S Dino tipped the scales at just under 600 kg.
Ahead of the February 1966 launch, Ferrari had already been experimenting with a new mid-engined racer. Known as the 166 P, this was initially raced with a 1.6 litre version of the engine during the 1965 season. It was fitted with several body variants that ranged from a coupe to a cut-down spyder. As a result, the production 206 S Dino was available with both a coupe and spyder body depending on the customer's requirements. Page 1 of 2 Next >>