Let's look for the origin of this car not with Fiat , but with another car manufacturer from the Apennine peninsula, with Ferrari . The Commendatore ( Enzo Ferrari ) named some of the cars after his late son Alfredino . He later founded an eponymous car company called Dino for these cheaper sports cars.
And how did Fiat get the name? Simply. Engines from the Ferrari Dino powered Formula 1 and later Formula 2 racing single-seaters, but the number of homologation cars was increased to 500, which Ferrari could not produce at the time. A contract was concluded between the two car companies, so in 1966 the Fiat Dino was released in the Spider version, followed a year later by the Coupé version.
The production itself was a chapter unto itself. Each variant was manufactured by someone else, Fiat and later Ferrari only supplied the powertrain. The Dino Spider was produced by Pininfarina . The car was so beautiful that the head of Fiat at the time, Gianni Agnelli , ordered the production of more cars.
The Coupé variant was also developed by Pininfarina , but his proposal did not pass and Bertone got the chance. And what engine powered the famous Dino ? Forked six-cylinder with a volume of 1987 cc and a power of 160 hp. The author was the famous Aurelio Lampredi , he reduced the performance for the sake of durability, but even with these parameters the car ran at a speed of 210 km/h.
From 1969, this engine was replaced by a more powerful version with a volume of 2418 cc and with a power of 180 hp. The maximum speed dropped to 205 km/h. This engine can also be found in other cult cars of the time. In addition to the Ferrari 246 GT/GTS , also in the legendary Lancia Stratos . But unlike the Dino , the engine was not in the front, but in the middle.
Production of the Spider version ended in 1972, the Coupé version lasted a year longer. Today it is a highly valued collector's car, the price tag of which exceeds half a million crowns. It is still said that the Fiat Dino Spider is the most beautiful car of this brand.
And finally, the advertisement of the time. That sound is heavenly music to the ears.
##DinoHistory##
Jan Pospíšil
