Last mid-engine road car and first with a targa top was Modena’s Dino 246 GTS. Ferrari modeled many cars after the 308 In December 1972, just a few months before she and Sonny Bono split up, Cher sold this brand-new Dino and soon after bought another. Only 1274 Dino 246 GTS Spyders were made, and people really want them now. But only a few have as much background and information as this one. This Ferrari Dino 246 GTS looks like it would be a lot of fun to drive in Benedict Canyon or Beverly Glen’s winding roads. Here, celebrities and Ferraris go hand in hand. You may remember seeing Cher driving this car not too far northwest of Hollywood. When she bought it in 1972, the targa-topped 246 GTS was one of the best racing cars money could buy. It was as beautiful as a Bob Mackie dress and a lot of fun to drive. That’s the one she’d choose. People know that Cher loves cars, but not as much as her friend Lady Gaga. She has owned many of them, such as old Rolls-Royces, restaurant-modified pickup trucks, and George Barris’ famous “Sonny & Cher” Mustang. Bring a Trailer, which is owned by Hearst Autos and Invoice Pricing, says she had this 1972 Dino for sixteen months before she sold it and bought another one. The attraction is clear. Even though the 246 GTS and the 1967 Dino 206 were not Ferraris, they were direct descendants of the 246 GTS, Modena’s first production car with a mid-engine. These V-6-powered cars had “Dino” badges to remember Enzo Ferrari’s late son, Alfredo “Dino” Ferrari. This made them competitive with Porsche’s 911 while still keeping the Prancing Horse’s style. Dino died of muscle dystrophy in 1956; not long after, he and engineer Vittorio Jano came up with the idea for the V-6s and V-8s that would last for a long time. With its 2.0-liter V-6 engine, the 206 was the first Ferrari road car. Il Commendatore made a complicated plan for Fiat to replace its V-6 engines with a new top-of-the-line GT, which became known as the 1966–1973 Fiat Dino. Fiat built the engines in answer. For Formula 2 homologation, Ferrari had to make 500 V-6s, but Turin insisted on directing production because he was worried about his ability to deliver them in the future. Then, the word got around to the 206 idea. Three cars—the Dino Berlinetta Speciale (1965), the 365 P Berlinetta Speciale (1966), and Pininfarina’s Aldo Brovarone (1965)—helped make the 206 look smooth and curved. It had 180 horsepower, five gears, light handling, and a top speed of 146 mph. It looked and moved like a road racer. In 1969, Fiat made the engine bigger to 2.4 liters. This made the 206 into the 246 with 195 hp. At that year’s Geneva show, the new cabin and fully synchronized engine were shown for the first time. During the 246’s lifetime, Ferrari and body maker Scaglietti made almost constant changes. The most notable and final addition was the 246 GTS with a targa top in mid-1972. At that time, Sonny and Cher were very famous. Cher had more success as a singer than Sonny, but between 1971 and 1974, millions of Americans watched The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, which brought the couple’s singing to TV. On December 14, 1972, she bought the Dino from Hollywood Sport Cars on Hollywood Boulevard. She got a license plate that said “CHERS” the following March, but a year later, she sold the car. She sold the Dino to IMSA racer Chris Cord, the grandson of E.L. Cord after her marriage to Sonny Bono ended in the spring of 1974. The Cord was a client of Hollywood Sport Cars. It is said that Cher had George Barris paint a blue 246 GTS with white pinstripes right after she bought another one after her divorce. A few months later, she and the second GTS were on the cover of People magazine. You can also see them in a 1975 picture of her shopping with a young Tatum O’Neal. In the 1970s and 1980s, Dinos were surprisingly discounted, and some brand snobs didn’t even think of them as “real” Ferraris. Many of them had been owned by more than one person or had been changed or broken during that time. Not this one. Within a few months, Cord sold the car to Donald MacDonald, an engineer for bridges, who took great care of it for 39 years and never lost a single piece of paperwork. The seller fixed it up to factory standards over the last ten years, so the odometer now reads 65,000 miles. Its whole past is written down and backed up by official certificates, like those from Ferrari expert Marcel Massini. There are also stacks of records (LPs and maintenance records), photos, and gifts to choose from. These days, a dinosaur in this shape and with this information is very valuable. Because of its past, this car should sell for a lot of money. Lady Gaga, if you’re reading this, the sale ends on June 10.
