The Dino was not a race car, despite having an engine rooted in racing. Its V6 was created for that very reason, expanding Ferrari’s competition offering by conforming to the Formula 2 regulations and doing so on a budget. On Fiat’s budget, really, because to fulfil the required 500 units its compatriot took on the production and in return placed the 2-litre in its own car.
One later Dino did indeed go racing, though: chassis 02678. It was created at the behest of influential Italian-American Luigi Chinetti, Le Mans hero and car salesman extraordinaire. That North American Racing Team car is rarely seen today, 52 years since its appearance at Le Mans, yet in the past two decades a UK-delivered Dino has slowly become a faithful recreation of it and now resides with Bell Sport & Classic.
At the Scramble, the car will be on display to support the StarterMotor Concours and highlight the sterling work being undertaken by the charity. Bell Sport & Classic employs a StarterMotor Ambassador, Sam, as an apprentice.
It seems to have forever been a racer. It arrived in the UK via the country’s original Ferrari importer: Maranello Concessionaires. Mike Hawthorn started the idea, and family friend Colonel Ronnie Hoare went through with it following the death of Britain’s first Formula 1 World Champion.
The first few owners of Chassis #03816 crossed the solid white line onto the race track and it even claimed the Maranello Concessionaires Ferrari Racing Championship. Bell Sport & Classic upholds those same title-sponsor traditions today with its own Ferrari race series.
Bespoke parts have turned this once-humble Dino in a formidable presence, a tribute to a unique chapter in Ferrari’s racing history. And you’ll find it by Building 123, the Station Armoury, as part of the main display at the Scramble.
Photos: Charlie B Photography
