Once upon a time, a Dino was the cheap secondhand Ferrari. You could pick one up for a few thousand pounds. These days, a good Dino is nudging £100k – or three to four times the value of the bigger but equally pretty 308GTB. Why has the Dino become so valuable?

Well, size is everything, as they say, and the compact Dino has a jewel-like quality found in relatively few top-end sports cars. Its handling is sublime and its 2.4-litre V6 engine – derived from a Ferrari racing unit – sounds fantastic when wound out towards its near-8000rpm red line. The Dino is also a car that many of today’s wealthy middle-aged enthusiasts lusted after in their youth, so lots of people want them, but only about 2500 cars survive. Supply and demand, and all that.

The trouble is that Dinos were not well built by Ferrari. OK, the engines are in fact pretty reliable – though camshafts do wear – but the bodies contain numerous rust traps and received nothing in the way of anti-corrosion treatment at the factory. Not even paint, on some surfaces that were hidden from view.

So most survivors have been restored by now, to varying standards. Identifying the quality of workmanship is the main challenge facing a Dino buyer.

Nick Cartwright (pictured above), the affable boss of Nick Cartwright Specialist Cars, a Ferrari specialist based in rural Derbyshire, owned his first Dino back in 1974.

Nick always has one or two Dinos in stock and his company has restored dozens over the years. ‘The reason a good car is now worth £100,000 is because there are very few such cars about, and restoring a poor one could cost £50-100k in itself,’ says Nick. ‘But values are tricky to arrive at – the Targa-topped GTS is theoretically more desirable but the coupé is a better drive. Colour doesn’t make much difference: red is always popular but condition is what ultimately sells a car.’

To misquote George Orwell, ‘All aspects of a Dino are expensive, but some are more expensive than others.’ Body, engine and gearbox are the three biggest potential sources of grief.

The Dino’s Pininfarina-styled curves are a huge part of its appeal but repairing them is a time-consuming and skilled job: rotten sills will cost thousands to replace. ‘Some UK-supplied cars were Dinitroled from new,’ says Nick, ‘but most had no rust protection at all. Dodgy panel gaps are an instant giveaway of a poorly restored car.

‘Engines tend to suffer from lack of use more than anything – with the blocks being cast-iron, they are fairly durable.’ This view is shared by Ron Lusardi at parts specialist Superformance, who has rebuilt 82 Dino engines to date. He adds: ‘It’s a very straightforward engine but camshaft shims wear and knock out the cams if servicing is neglected. 

A new set costs £800 plus VAT. Distributor bob weights tend to self-destruct and take out the dizzy, too – you can buy a programmable electronic unit for £1300 plus VAT, a worthwhile sacrifice to originality.’

Nick continues: ‘Gearbox parts are more of a problem: it’s actually a fabulous ’box but you have to let the oil warm through and not force the ’change. Interiors were generally vinyl, with leather an option, though dash-tops were always trimmed in a faux suede material that faded quickly. Air-con wasn’t a UK option and the GT does get warm inside, which is one area where the open GTS scores in summer.’

The Dino is a connoisseur’s Ferrari. It’s not a supercar, at least by modern standards, but it is brisk enough to thrill while offering old-school steering feedback and driving pleasure. And it looks simply gorgeous. 

However, while it’s difficult enough to find an ’80s Ferrari that’s in genuinely good order, tracking down a really nice ’70s car is much harder still – during our visit, Nick Cartwright pulled up details of various cars being sold online and gave an instant commentary on what was wrong with each. Scary stuff, when you see the prices being asked.

Originality and history, as always, are the key. Totally unrestored Dinos are almost unknown, so find out what repair work has been done, and by whom. Bear in mind that an older restoration, which has had time to show up any hidden trouble, may be a safer bet than a recent job. And when you find the right car, get it rustproofed!