Gallery: Is this the most beautiful Ferrari ever made?

Sports Car News

February 10th 2025

The Ferrari Dino 206 S might just be the best looking car ever to emerge from Maranello – Andrew Frankel gets behind the wheel in this month's magazine

Ferrari Dino 206 S: stunning at speed and in static

Dean Smith

Ferrari has reeled off a whole host of good-looking competition and road cars since it first became a constructor in 1947.

The ‘Sharknose’ 156 taken to the world title by Phil Hill, the 330 P which rivalled the Ford GT40 at Le Mans and the F40 supercar all became iconic machines in their own right.

From the archive

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On track in the Dino 206 S: Ferrari’s near-perfect pocket racer

You know that phrase ‘if it looks right, it is right’? Were that always the case the Ferrari Dino 206 S would have won every race it entered, probably lapping…

March 2025 Issue

By Andrew Frankel

Not only did they push the envelope in terms of performance, they also turned heads on the street and didn’t look bad on a bedroom wall poster either.

In this month’s edition though, Andrew Frankel gets behind the wheel of what may be the most beautiful Ferrari ever produced: the Dino 206 S.

A design dovetail intended to take on both the 1966 European Hillclimb Championship and what is now known as the World Endurance Championship, its svelte lines were penned by renowned coachbuilder Piero Drogo.

The Italian was also responsible for the beautiful 330 P3 and P4 endurance racers, with one main difference: size.

Overhead rear view of Ferrari Dino 206S — Dean Smith

Ferrari Dino 206S in pit garage — Dean Smith

Ferrari Dino 206S engine cover clip — Dean Smith

The 206 S is the pocket rocket version, designed to thread its way through tight mountain passes as well as the narrower, hairier sports car challenges like the Nurburgring and Targa Florio.

Not just a looker, what is also remarkable about this Ferrari is what’s in the back – a 2-litre V6, set at a fairly unusual 65-degree angle.

The engine, designed by renowned tech chief Vittorio Jano and developed by Enzo Ferrari’s son Dino, had an incredible competition life. Not only did it power Mike Hawthorn to the 1958 F1 championship, it was used in various other forms in F2, sports cars and was winning 1981 WRC rounds in the back of a Lancia Stratos.

Overhead front image of Ferrari Dino 206S on track — Dean Smith

Front view of Ferrari Dino 206S on track — *Motor Sport* gets behind the wheel

Dean Smith

Rear view of Ferrari Dino 206S on track — Dean Smith

In its Dino derivation, an output of 270bhp to push forward a car weighing just 580kg gives at astounding power-to-weight ratio – equivalent to Maranello’s new 12Cilindri flagship roadcar, 60 years its junior and requiring a 6.5-litre V12 to achieve similar numbers. In firing the Dino up, our writer immediately realises it’s lost none of its voice.

“They’ve already warned me to wear earplugs, which sounds a trifle excessive until I thumb the button that fires it up,” Frankel says.

“It’s like someone has dropped a thunderflash in the middle of the pit garage. Drivers, engineers and hangers-on from other teams all instinctively flinch. I’m sure I saw one duck.

Ferrari Dino 206S dashboard — Dean Smith

Dashboard of Ferrari Dino 206S — Dean Smith

“If ever there were a prize for the amount of noise relative to its number of cubic inches an engine can make, no other would bother entering.”

It’s not about all-out power though. In taking the car to the track at Donington, our writer knows that patience and a smooth approach are what’s needed to get the best out of the 206.

“To drive it fast and well you need to play to its strengths: there’s not unlimited power, but it is ultra-light, beautifully set up and handles as precisely as you’d hope a car looking like this and from this era might handle,” he says.

Front wheel of Ferrari Dino 206 S — Dean Smith

Ferrari Dino 206S fuel filler — Dean Smith

Ferrari Dino 206S headlight — Dean Smith

From the archive

“The trick is to carry speed, everywhere. This is not a car for rushing up to a corner, standing on its nose and chucking at an apex.

“It’s a car you drive with your fingers and wrists, not elbows and shoulders, using the electrifying throttle response to keep it beautifully balanced from entry to exit. No doubt you could skid it about and have huge fun, but it’s not how it wants to be driven.

“It’s not the fastest thing out there, but if you want driving pleasure distilled into its simplest, purest form, a few laps of Donington in this 206 S will provide it.”

The sensational Dino 206 S will also race in this year’s Dan Gurney Cup at the Goodwood Members’ Meeting, taking on other sports cars built between 1963 and 1966 such as the Ford GT40, McLaren M1A and Lotus 23.