FCA CEO Claims that Ferrari Could Resurrect the Dino Nameplate

Dino GT4 p1″ by AlfvanBeem – Own work. Licensed under CC0 via Wikimedia Commons (Credit: © AlfvanBeem)

Dino is an icon in the automotive world for many widely varying reasons. Most people these days see it as a revolutionary car that gave buyers the chance to own a car built by Ferrari without the Ferrari price. Others, however, view is at a cheapening of the brand. In recent years, the former opinion has gained headway while the latter has faded away, and now Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Ferrari’s majority owner, FCA, has mentioned that the Dino could return. In an interview with Autoblog, Marchionne said, “It’s a when not an if,” when queried about the Dino. Marchionne continued, “we know that it [Dino] is an under-used resource, but that’s why we need to get it right.” According to the report, a resurrected Dino could be smaller and lighter than the existing 488. Marchionne also admitted that the model could make use of a V-6 engine that produces around 500 horsepower. If you’re wondering where this V-6 engine would come from, Ferrari already helps build a V-6 engine for Maserati and Alfa Romeo, and chances are it would have access to this peppy six-pot. Marchionne continued by clarifying that the Dino would not simply be a cheaper Ferrrari, as “You don’t screw around with the interests of your customers.” A way around this would be to create the Dino in the same manner Ferrari originally created it, as its own brand. This way it could be less expensive and able to compete with the Porsche 911 without damaging the Ferrari name. While this is all just preliminary, to hear the leader of a publically traded company discuss a future product adds a lot of validity to this report. Now it’s just a waiting game to see if FCA and Ferrari head in this direction or id this was all just vaporware. Stay tuned to find out.