FERRARI Dino 206 GT 1968-1969 Photos, engines & full specs

The Dino was the first mid-engine road car produced by Ferrari, but without wearing the prancing horse badge.

At the beginning of the '60s, Enzo Ferrari considered that its company should build a more affordable sports car. The Italian carmaker needed to make 500 engines to qualify for Formula 2, and Fiat stepped in, producing and fitting them into an upmarket vehicle. The project started, and in 1968 he unveiled the car under the Dino brand. It costed half the price of a Ferrari Daytona introduced in the same year, but twice as much as a Jaguar E-Type V12. Nevertheless, the Italian carmaker managed to sell 246 vehicles, which was more than any other Ferrari built by that time.

With a bodywork designed by the Pininfarina Studios, the Dino sported a pair of round fixed headlights and a flat and low front area. The two-seat cabin featured a raked windshield and a vertical but very curved on the outer side, rear windscreen just in front of the engine compartment. Like any Ferrari from those days, the carmaker installed four round taillights.

The interior was elegant, with a pair of bolstered bucket seats. Its instrument cluster was behind the steering wheel and featured two large dials and no less than six additional gauges. It was a minimalist interior, which didn't share the glamour or the luxury of a Daytona or any other Ferrari.

Since Ferrari built the bodywork from aluminum, it was light. Thus, the 180 hp engine didn't have to work hard to push the 900 kg (1984 lbs) vehicle to high speeds. The carmaker paired the 2.0-liter V-6 engine to a five-speed manual gearbox.