Fiat Dino

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Fiat Dino Spider at Wheels Of Italy

Fiat Dino Coupé

The Fiat Dino is a front-engined, rear-drive sports car manufactured between 1967 and 1973. It was an intermediate step towards creating the "true" Dino by Ferrari, and the two are often confused. The Fiat Dino allowed Ferrari to achieve the necessary production numbers to homologate Alfredo Ferrari's V6 engine for Formula 2 racing. Ferrari went on to produce a mid-engined Dino of its own, the 206 and 246.

The car was first offered with a 2.0-liter, 160 horsepower V-6, with a 5-speed manual transmission. It was the first Fiat engine equipped with dual overhead camshafts. This engine was later enlarged to a 2.4-liter, 180 horsepower unit in 1969. As opposed to Ferrari's version, the Fiat Dino was equipped with a live axle coupled with leaf springs. Performance was impressive, with a 0-60 MPH time of less than 8 seconds. Fuel was delivered via three Weber 40DCNF carburetors. Two body designs were made for Fiat - a Pininfarina spider and a Bertone coupe.

Buying a Dino is inexpensive (pristine 1967 examples would auction for about $16,000 in the United States in 2001), and the cars aren't unreliable. They are irritating to maintain, however, especially given their scarcity of parts as well as mechanics knowledgeable of them. The Dino was never sold officially in the United States, although many people imported them. It was discontinued in 1973.

References

• Don Weberg, "Great Save: The Dino Project Kept Ferrari Racing and Gave Fiat a True Exotic," Classic Motorsports, November, 2005. Page 73.