1974 / M Ferrari Dino 246 GTS - Meticulously Restored

Background – 07610

The car was ordered through Maranello Concessionaires of Egham, Surrey by HR Owen Ltd, 33 Sloane Street London on the 16th October 1973 on order number 9982. Ordered for showroom display stock the car was specified in Verde Germoglio 20-G-465 with the interior in Beige 430 Skai artificial leather upholstery and electric windows. The initial order from HR Owen requested grey carpets but this was changed to beige carpet on the factory order confirmation paperwork. 07610 was built at the Ferrari factory in Maranello in December 1973 and delivered by truck to Maranello’s Tower Garage in Egham in January 1974. Maranello Concessionaires raised an invoice for the car upon its receipt to HR Owen on the 24th January 1974.

Between the order being placed and the car being delivered, the oil crises of October 1973 hit the UK economy and had an immediate impact upon inflation. Luxury car sales were significantly affected and the market slowed considerably. The car was sold to its first owner, Mr Richard Charnely of Barcombe near Lewes, on the 20th June 1974. Mr Charnley’s period of ownership lasted only 8 months.

The second owner was a London based building company, W Loweth & Sons Ltd of Hackney who purchased the car on the 6th March 1975. Once again their ownership period was fairly brief and the car was sold again on 6th June 1976. The car must have been used extensively as its mileage is recorded in the history file as being circa 27,500 at 22 months old.

The third owner was a Mr Bret Langevad from London W14. Mr Langevad was an enthusiast owner who would keep the car for 16 years and cover a further 38,500 miles in it. He kept detailed records during his period of ownership, which are contained, within the car’s history file. He was a member of the Ferrari Owners club of Great Britain and entered the car in four of their annual concourse events with a highest placing of 2nd in one of them and 4th in another. He also offered the car to the Matchbox Toys Company, which was looking to make a 1/43-scale model of the 246 GTS for their re-launched “Dinky” toys range. Matchbox took up his offer and correspondence relating to this project is contained within the history file. Mr Langevad entrusted the care of the Dino to Maranello Concessionaires throughout his period of ownership. In 1988 he had them carry out a full restoration of the car. This was extensive and involved the replacement of the complete rear end of the bodywork on the car along with a new Targa roof panel. As the car was being taken back to bare metal he took the opportunity to repaint it in the increasingly popular colour of Rosso Chiaro and had the interior retrimmed in black leather with new red carpets fitted. A full photographic record was kept of this work and it forms part of the extensive history file. Mr Langevad sold the car through Talacrest Maidenhead in October 1992.

The fourth owner was Mr A Sanson of Biddenden, Kent. Mr Sanson enjoyed ownership of the car for 3.5 years before selling it to his son, Mr L Sanson of Tunbridge Wells who kept it for a further 4 years.

The car was sold in November 2000 to former Maranello Concessionaires salesman Paul Dumont-Baber through his specialist Ferrari independent sales company, 250 SWB Ltd in Knightsbridge, London. Mr Baber had sourced the car for one of his customers, Michael Cotter in Dublin, Ireland, on the 29th November 2000. Mr Cotter is a very successful property developer who has amassed a large collection of classic Ferraris. The car was shipped to Dublin and re-registered there on the number ZV8171.

After a lengthy period of ownership Mr Cotter decided to sell the car in spring of 2013. It was shipped back to London and entrusted to Paul Baber to sell once again.

The current owner went to view the car in June 2013 in Knightsbridge. He found it to be in a fairly unloved state but his experience of restoring three other Dino 246 GT models made him look beyond the obvious cosmetic issues. To the untrained eye the car looked to be in poor condition but he realised he was looking at solid example that would make a superb car once correctly restored. A deal to buy the car was agreed and arrangements made for Carrs Ferrari in Exeter to collect it and return it to their workshop for restoration. The car was submitted to HMRC for a NOVA (Notice of Vehicle Arrivals) and re-registered with the DVLA who re-assigned the number WLY 983M to it.

The impression that this was a good example was vindicated post purchase when the car was taken to Carrs Ferrari Exeter and the Head Technician there began to disassemble it. The bodywork was in generally sound condition due to the earlier Maranello Concessionaires restoration and the engine, gearbox and running gear were all original to the car. An extensive ground up restoration plan for the car was devised with the goal of sympathetically returning it to factory correct specification with the mechanical restoration being undertaken by Carrs Ferrari in Exeter and the body restoration by the highly experienced marque specialist, Stallion Motor Body Specialists in Nottingham. The interior retrim was handled by a specialist independent trimmer in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, who had over 25 years experience of working on these cars and had an extensive collection of original interior trim items to pattern the new interior from. In a twist of fate 07610 was delivered new in Verde Germoglio and by pure coincidence the owner already had a 246 GT restored in it’s original delivered colour of Verde Germoglio. This was a rare colour in the UK with only 9 cars delivered in it across the production run of the M and then E series Dinos. The owner decided that he did not want two cars in the same colour and so broke his own rule of returning his restored cars to their original factory ordered colour way. With this car he decided to finish in it a period correct colour way available at the point of order and one which he would have chosen himself had he ordered it new. For the exterior the lustrous colour Nocciola Metallizzato 106-M-27 was chosen to show off the beautiful curved lines of the car. Nocciola is Italian for Hazelnut and a very apt description of this colour that sparkles in the sunshine. For the interior Connolly Vaumol Beige VM3128 leather was chosen with Cinnamon wool Wilton carpets selected to compliment the exterior. The correct “Dino” vinyl inserts strips were sourced to reproduce the “Daytona” seat finish option. The boot was re-trimmed with the correct original black Boucle heavy loop carpet. The Targa roof panel was restored in the original satin black finish and the correct “Dino” vinyl heat stitched insert panels were located from a specialist supplier in Italy to fit the underside.

The attention to detail with this Dino is nothing short of staggering. Considerable effort, hard work, extensive research and dedication was expended in finding out the specific details for this car not only in terms of its original specification, but also in terms of the detail entered into in ensuring absolutely the correct parts are used throughout. Wherever possible the original parts were stripped, cleaned and restored. Where items were either missing or beyond restoration, correct parts were sourced from all over the world to ensure every minor detail is “factory” correct. Although the car is not presented in it’s original colour combination, it is restored to be period correct in terms of the exterior and interior colours which were both options available at the time the original order was placed with the factory. As such it would be eligible for entry to any concours event.

The finished result is nothing short of sensational.

Yes, there are cheaper cars out there, but I can assure you if you are looking for a Dino that is absolutely correct down to every last detail, then this is the one. One of only 258 right hand drive Dino's produced worldwide this is a rare model. It is believed that less than 220 of these were originally delivered to the UK market and a number have subsequently been sold to other right hand drive markets over the years – Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa etc.

Presented in as restored condition, this example really must be seen to be appreciated, every detail is correct, the panel fit is exceptional and certainly much better than when it was originally built, the paintwork is faultless.

Since the restoration was completed in 2014, the routine servicing work on the car has been carried out by Carrs Ferrari in Exeter with a total of seven stamps in it’s post restoration service book. A fresh service has been carried out in January 2025 when a full set of period correct, brand new Michelin XWX tyres were fitted. It has subsequently been put through a full health check by Carrs Ferrari in Exeter in July and also passed an MOT. It wants for nothing and is now all ready for the next lucky custodian to enjoy with peace of mind.

The Dino is a very usable ‘modern’ classic, thankfully there is now plentiful parts supply to make running one a fairly easy proposition versus the likes of the V12 engined 365 or 512 models.

In terms of the driving experience, the lightness of the car and it’s mid engined layout give it a much more modern feel on the road and the non-assisted steering gives lots of surface feedback whilst the double wishbone suspension layout front and rear gives a ride quality that is perfectly suited to our crumbling roads. The narrow width of the car means it is far easier to enjoy on backroad blasts than any modern, wide mid engined exotic. The ability to remove the Targa top and enjoy open-air motoring adds another dimension to the driving experience and enhances the aural enjoyment of the ANSA exhaust.

07610 comes with all of it’s original factory accessories including tool kit, jack kit, Costaplastik warning triangle, wheel chock, owners manual leather wallet containing owners manual, parts manual, Ferrari/Dino dealer service directory for 1974, Warranty Card, Fiamm battery guarantee booklet, “Dino” vinyl Targa top tonneau cover, a full set of spare keys plus other period items including an AGIP chamois leather in plastic packaging and a spare Continental fanbelt that was supplied with these cars when new and would all add to any presentation of the car at a concours event.

It is supplied with an extensive history file that includes photographic records of its restorations in 1988 and 2014.

This car is offered on behalf of the owner

Viewings are by Appointment Only, please contact us to arrange