For too long the Fiat Dino has been an underground secret, kept private from the wider classic car world for the better part of the past two decades. It seems to have shirked the publicity afforded to its cousins at Ferrari and Maserati, and still remains a treat for the lucky few who are astute enough to recognise what they are looking at.

Word seems to be spreading. The Pininfarina styled Dino Spider has been on an upward swing for a while and the best examples now command more than £120,000, but the mechanically identical Coupe, with slightly more austere lines drawn by Bertone, remains a relative bargain.

 

The Dino Coupe is regularly forgotten by excited school children and armchair enthusiasts alike, but the reality is that it is the consummate classic choice for the discerning enthusiast. It is a proper Italian GT from the glory days of hopping down to the Côte d’Azur on holiday, swinging through the bends of the Riviera with a glistening blue ocean as backdrop and an attractive passenger for conversation. In period, a Dino Coupe wouldn’t have looked at all out of place parked alongside a Ferrari Daytona or Maserati Ghibli.

There are few cars in this price range that are fitted with legitimate Ferrari racing engines; in fact, the Dino Coupe is probably the only one. The Dino project spawned as an outlet for Ferrari’s new Formula 2 specification 65° V6 racing engine; fresh rules from the FIA in 1967 stipulated that a minimum of 500 must be produced and sold to the public. The same engine in a slightly different state of tune was fitted transversely in the Ferrari 246 Dino, examples of which regularly trade today in the £3-400,000 range.

 

Early Fiat Dino’s lacked torque and would foul plugs if not driven hard – a by-product of running a detuned race motor. But when driven with gusto the performance is sparkling, and the noise even better. The Coupe is understated enough to fly under the radar, and provides enough useful practicality to bring the family along for the ride.

Whilst you can still pick up a relative bargain, the days of the £6,000 Dino Coupe disappeared a decade ago. As the data shows, solid examples have been trading at auction recently for upwards of £40,000.

 

 

Rough ones are still out there, but make sure you search for a good example as they are expensive to put right. Ferrari tax is usually charged on mechanical parts, and as a result many did not receive the care they deserve while they sat at the bottom of the value curve.

However, a wise purchase should see solid returns. With values of sixties Ferrari GT cars soaring ever out of sight, it’s only a matter of time until the classic car world begins to fully appreciate what the Fiat Dino Coupe has to offer.