The new Dino 246GT was an absolute delight from all angles, its beauty, handling, engine note, mid-engined layout, unusually good all-round visibility and comparative affordability made it absolutely irresistible.

The voluptuous bodywork, which many people regard as the prettiest ever to grace a road-going Ferrari, was designed by Pininfarina and built by Scaglietti and covered a tubular chassis which carried wishbone independent suspension at each corner.

The 190bhp engine, with four overhead camshafts, was mounted transversely behind the driver and in front of the rear axle.

Power to the wheels was transmitted via drop gears to the transverse 5-speed gearbox, in unit with the differential and engine sump.

With rack and pinion steering and a mid-engined configuration, it was a revelation in terms of road holding and stability, nothing had been made like this before and it left its larger V12-engined siblings in its wake.

There was an addition to the range in 1972 when the Spider ...