We were doing some business at Cars and Coffee last weekend and found ourselves parked in a pretty remote spot when this big white car slotted in beside us.
So, which car would you rather have, a red Fiat 500 Sport or a white Ferrari F430 Scuderia?
Yeah, well, us too. Strangely enough, our little part of the weekly 400-car C/C show had a little something to it, as you can see from this picture of a multi-car comparison.
So how many Fiats do you see in this picture?
There’s the Fiat 500, of course. Then there’s the Ferrari 430 Scuderia.
Then you have a Fiat Dino Spider, a front-engine, rear-drive Fiat-designed car with Pininfarina bodywork and a Ferrari-designed, Fiat-built V6 engine. Built between 1966 and 1973, this car homologated the V6 for Ferrari’s use in racing.
And finally there’s the Ferrari 246 GT, built between 1968 and 1976 and powered by the same V6. Originally both this car and the Fiat Dino were both marketed under the brand name of “Dino,” a tribute to Enzo Ferrari’s son Alfredino, to whom the Old Man always attributed the V6 concept. Both cars were meant as alternatives to the Porsche 911, which had created a whole new market for affordable sports cars.
The Dino brand created more problems than it solved, though, so the 246 GT – Ferrari’s first mid-engine car — finally became a Ferrari while the front-engine car became a Fiat. At least that’s how we understand the story.
What the heck, we really see four Fiats in this picture, anyway. Funny how we all came together just by chance.
Michael Jordan, Executive Editor, Edmunds.com @ 11,755 miles
questionlp says:
12:31 PM, 02/ 7/12
At least that F430 didn't have a lovely mark on it's left cheek like the one that visited Portland Cars & Coffee this past Saturday.
http://razzi.me/p/393664
throwback says:
12:33 PM, 02/ 7/12
I'll take the Dino Spider. The little 500 does not look out of place in that row, it is part of the family.
sharpend says:
12:43 PM, 02/ 7/12
Time to be a little pedantic.
More correct would have been to refer to that one car as a Ferrari Dino 246 GT rather than a 'Ferrari 246 GT' since it is actually not a Ferrari but instead a Dino 246 GTS. You want to get the word 'Dino' in there somewhere when talking about a 246.
In fact, the word 'Ferrari' never appeared on a Dino 246 - unless an owner stuck a Ferrari badge on it afterwards - it was always a Dino.
Only later, with the newer Dino 308 GT4 did the name finally change to Ferrari in 1976.
gslippy says:
02:54 PM, 02/ 7/12
I've always been a fan of the Dino, but I prefer the sedan version.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fiat_Dino_2400_Coupe_2.JPG
church123 says:
05:04 PM, 02/ 7/12
3 sexy italian cars and a wart in need of removal....
epbrown says:
07:22 PM, 02/ 7/12
@chruch123: I didn't know Carroll Lachnit's husband read Insideline. ;)
33stradale says:
05:57 AM, 02/ 8/12
If your Fiat 500 was an Abarth, I would choose it over the F430. One could drive it with brio, whereas you couldn't begin to use the Ferrari's capabilities on public roads.
@church 123: For someone who doesn't like the 500, you sure comment on it a lot. Just sayin'.
church123 says:
04:38 PM, 02/ 8/12
Yeah, I comment a lot of stuff. Good and bad. Sometimes when confronted with something particularly ugly or offensive my verbal gorge rises and bleeehhrggg, there it is. Cheers.