1971 Fiat Dino Spider 2400

Description

One of only 420 made; recent engine rebuild by Dino specialist which cost £17k and only 60 miles since; lots of history; matching numbers; all the pedigree of a Ferrari Dino 246GT at a fraction of the price!

The Fiat Dino came about because Enzo Ferrari needed a new engine eligible for Formula 2 racing. This could have no more than six cylinders and 2,000cc and had to be derived from a production engine used in a road car which had sold at least 500 examples within the last 12 months.  

As Ferrari did not have the production capacity to achieve this quota, Enzo struck a deal with Fiat who agreed to put the four-cam 2.0 V6 in a new model called the Dino. Styled by Pininfarina, the open-top Spider version made its debut at the October 1966 Turin Motor Show, while a Bertone-styled 2+2 Coupe followed hot on its heels at the March 1967 Geneva Motor Show. Ferrari also put the engine in its new mid-engined Dino 206GT (another Pininfarina masterpiece) and the 500 sales target was soon met.

In 1969 the engine was enlarged to 2.4 and was installed in both the Fiat Dino Spider 2400 and in the Ferrari Dino 246GT. Producing 180bhp and allied to a 5-speed ZF manual gearbox, it could propel either car to 60mph in under 8 seconds with a top speed of 130mph and a suitably Ferrari soundtrack.

Unlike the 2.0 cars, the Fiat Dino 2.4 was built at Ferrari’s Maranello factory and gained some useful improvements including coil-sprung independent rear suspension, bigger brakes and an uprated cooling system. Only 420 Fiat Dino Spider 2400 models were made, all in LHD, before production came to an end in 1972, survivors being highly prized today.

First registered in Italy in July 1971, this Fiat Dino Spider 2400 (chassis no. 1470) subsequently found its way to South Africa where it was owned by a collector, Mr Brian Mortimer, who had it restored to concours standard in the 1980s. A four-page feature on the car in a January 1991 issue of Motoring News recounts how Mortimer (who owned at least two other Dinos) also had the engine uprated with special cams and high compression pistons which upped the power to 195bhp.

In 1994 Mortimer had the car shipped to the UK where it was sold at auction by Sotheby’s, the catalogue description stating that it was “one of the best Dino Spiders we have seen”.

The next owner was a Mr R Beckwith of Sussex who promptly sent it to Ferrari specialist Superformance of Hainault for major service and check-over. This included an overhaul of the brakes, steering and suspension; new fuel pumps; carbs overhauled; new cam cover gaskets; new seat belts plus much else besides, all detailed in invoices on file. The indicated mileage at this point was 63,498 kms (39,500 miles).

In March 1995 the Dino was offered for sale by Richard Banks (of Alfaholics fame) where it was acquired by another collector, founder/owner of a prestigious London-based design studio.

He also had the car maintained by Superformance including a cylinder head rebuild to make it suitable for unleaded fuel; rebuilt ignition system; new Koni front shocks; new stainless steel exhaust system; full waxoil treatment plus various other jobs. He used the car regularly until 2006, adding some 24,400 kms to the odometer before putting it into storage where it was kept on SORN for the next five years.  

Our vendor acquired the car in early 2011 by which point it had 88,800 kms on the clock and was safely tucked away in a private car park under The Barbican alongside a Ferrari Dino 246GT also owned by the same gentleman.

A serial Italian car collector who has owned over a dozen other Dinos, our vendor was already familiar with this car, having been out in it several times when it was owned by Brian Mortimer in South Africa – another reason he was keen to buy it because he recalled how quick it was compared to most other Dinos, no doubt due to the engine upgrades.

He went right through the car to address any issues due to lack of recent use. This included a full rebuild of the triple Weber carbs; rebuilt distributor; brake calipers rebuilt plus various other jobs all detailed in invoices on file. The car was then lightly used over the next 10 years, covering some 5,600 kms as documented by old MOTs on file.

In 2021 disaster struck when the engine (which is the original unit fitted to the car) developed a fault. This turned out to be caused by a careless repair in the past which had allowed excess silicon sealant to enter the internal oilways and block the oil feed to the camshafts. The fault was diagnosed by ex-Rolls-Royce engineer Neale Shepherd, well-known in Dino circles and who had previously rebuilt three other Dino engines for our vendor.   

His forensic report on the engine runs to many pages (including photos of the damage caused by the offending silicon sealant) and makes for fascinating reading. The meticulous rebuild that followed is equally well-documented and will keep the new owner happily engrossed for hours.

To cut a long story short, the block was stripped of every component, chemically dipped and meticulously rebuilt, the machining being done by Chesman Engineering with final assembly by Shepherd. This included new high compression pistons; bearings; con rods; camshafts; timing chains; oil pump; balanced crank and flywheel; new clutch kit; recored radiator plus a multitude of other parts. Rest assured, it was an extremely thorough job which took over 200 hours and cost over £17,000.

Since the engine was rebuilt the car has only covered around 100 kms and will require a careful running-in period before the performance is exploited to the full. As you might imagine, the car has been starting promptly and running beautifully as we have moved it around on site, with good 60psi oil pressure.

Fitted with a rare and lovely vintage Momo Moretti steering wheel, it also retains the original Fiat steering wheel and rides on the correct Cromodora 14” alloy wheels (including spare). It also retains its original complete tool kit and wheel-changing kit (super-rare and very expensive to replace). A Fiat Archivio dating certificate is also present.

As you can see in the photos, this well-historied and thoroughly rejuvenated Dino Spider is an achingly pretty machine. Finished in its original shade of Rosso Vivio (code 152 on the chassis plate), all that lets the side down is the quality of the paint finish which has some imperfections here and there, particularly on the front panel above the o/s headlights.

With all the pedigree of the Dino 246GT but at a fraction of the price, the Fiat Dino Spider 2400 is widely tipped for future growth, the very best examples already making over $200k at auction in America, compared to $500k+ for the Dino 246GT.

Believed to be one of only 10 in the UK (including another owned by our vendor), this exceedingly rare and beautiful Spider is well worth a look at the sensible guide price suggested.

Consigned by James Dennison – 07970 309907 – james.dennison@brightwells.com