The inscription on the base of this car is just plain wrong. It reads “Ferrari 246 GTS”. But - it’s a Dino! Dino was its own brand, even if no one ever seems to have acknowledged that.
The 246 means it is one of the post-1971 models with the 2.4l engine, pumping out a healthy 192hp. Not bad in its day. Though these days, well, even my humble Ford Falcon has a bit more than that on tap.
The GTS denotes that it is targa topped version, as opposed to the GT coupe. And the targa top makes pretty clear which car parent company Ferrari was aiming at: the Porsche 911.
It never even closely matched the 911 production figures, as only fewer than 4000 were made before it was replaced by the Dino 308 (also not a Ferrari!). But this car was never about all out performance, nor did the production figures make it look like a failure. The swoopy Pininfarina designed body made it an instant classic - and its values today belie that fact that it was meant to be an affordable entry into the world of, well, Ferraris.
This is another of my old Norev models, and one I like quite a bit. Nevermind the wheels or the plastic base. It just looks lovely from every angle, and I really like the colour. Best of all, it’s not red.