‘I drove this classic Ferrari and made a heartbreaking discovery’
What’s the first brand most people think of when they think of cars?
Sometimes it’s a three-pointed star, sometimes it’s a pair of wings, and occasionally it is a shield.
Most of the time however, it is a black prancing horse on a yellow background and the word ‘Ferrari’ written at the top.
It is one of those rare times when the cliché fits perfectly with the reality as for many people the pinnacle of cars both on and off track will be accompanied by the sound of six and 12-cylinder cars roaring over the horizon.
Earlier this week I drove my first-ever Ferrari, one with a heartbreaking back story.
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The car I drove was a 1973 Ferrari Dino 246 GT, currently being looked after by Ferrari specialists Foskers Ferrari.
It is one of the few Ferraris of this era to be fitted with the steering wheel on the right-hand side of the car, providing at least some degree of familiarity as you slip yourself into a very spacious cabin.
Staring out ahead of you see the wheel arches, each of them hand beaten, marking the ends of the car. Also stretching far away from you is the steering wheel, there is no adjustment here other than a lever to move the seat back and forth.
And then there’s the engine, the beating heart after which the car is named.
The V6 sits inches from the back of your head and whether you’re accelerating or cruising it remains a constant presence, the soundtrack of a bygone era.
Heel and toe on the way down through the H-pattern gearbox, let the engine breathe, and suddenly the car leaps forward, and all of your cliches are left behind.
I got out of the car and for the first time really, REALLY, understood why people lust after Ferraris, why some sell for tens of millions of pounds. You get the Ferrari bug, and it sticks.
While the Dino 246 GT was built and designed during an iconic era of motoring, one of its architects sadly never saw it at all.
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Dino Ferrari was the heir to the Ferrari throne, the man who was meant to replace Enzo after he died.
But Dino never saw the throne, in his early 20s he was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and died at the age of just 24 in 1956.
A gifted engineer, Dino designed a range of six-cylinder engines that propelled his father’s cars to glory around the world.
After his death, Enzo named both the engines and some of his cars after his son, the Dino 246 GT is one of those cars.
Six years after Dino’s death, Enzo launched the Premio Giornalistico Dino Ferrari – a prize for journalism – and co-founded the Centro Dino Ferrari, a research centre for degenerative conditions at the University of Milan.
Dino’s half-brother, Piero, continues to support the centre to this day.
As a result, Dino’s legacy continues to propel the quest to find a cure for degenerative diseases forward, just like the engines in the Ferraris he designed.
It will also be carried in the soundwaves that emanate from iconic cars such as the Dino 246 GT, his memory carried on the smiles of the faces his engines create.
Ferrari starring Adam Driver as Enzo Ferrari, Penelope Cruz as Laura Ferrari, and Shailene Woodley as Lina Lardi is released in the UK on December 29.
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