The Gooding & Company auction at Pebble Beach will feature a rare 1973 Ferrari Dino 246. Estimated auction price is $400,000 to $500,000.

Photo Courtesy of Gooding & Co.

From Gooding:

PROVENANCE
Victor Karawanny, San Francisco, California (acquired in 1976)
Current Owner (acquired from the above)

LITERATURE
Matthias Bartz, Dino Compendium, chassis no. listed on p. 385

THIS CAR
One of 1,623 third-series (Series E) coupes, and one of only 219 Dinos originally finished in Nuovo Giallo Fly (then a relatively new factory color), this 246 GT is a fascinating example, recently discovered in San Francisco following decades in static storage.

This car, chassis 06686, is believed to have been equipped from new with the rare combination of fender flares and Campagnolo alloy wheels, but with standard Dino seats rather than the optional Daytona “chairs.” Dino authority Matthias Bartz estimates that just 40 246 GTs were originally specified with this combination of features, of which a mere 15 were built for the European market.

Despite being completed as a left-hand-drive example with instruments in kilometers, the European-specified Dino was sold through Maranello Concessionaires, the famed British Ferrari retailer that also ran one of the factory’s preferred privateer racing teams. The car, completed in June 1973 and trimmed with a black vinyl interior, was delivered to an unknown owner in England that fall.

In 1975, the 246 GT was exported to California and then purchased in Venice Beach by Victor Karawanny, a US Navy pilot. In a note retained in the car’s file, the airman wrote that the Dino displayed about 56,000 km when he bought it. He registered 06686 in California on vanity license plates reading “VIX DINO,” and drove the car sporadically for three years while stationed at San Diego, during which time he was often deployed on aircraft carriers.

The Ferrari was stored in San Francisco during these six-month stints. After Karawanny’s discharge from the Navy in 1979, he enrolled in graduate school in Montana, where the Dino served as his primary transportation. In 1981, the pilot re-enlisted in the Navy and the Dino was garaged while he was stationed in Puerto Rico. The car was ultimately placed in static storage in San Francisco, where it remained until early 2016.

As presented, this Dino is a veritable 1970s time capsule, featuring a period repaint in black with custom red pinstriping, a period Blaupunkt radio, and a 1979-1980 Montana State University parking sticker affixed to the left rear bumper. The car will require mechanical attention before road use.

Currently displaying less than 75,000 km, this fascinating Dino retains its original interior and exhibits remnants of the original Nuovo Giallo Fly paint. The body number is chalk-written on the inner trunk panel, with matching stamps in the expected locations. Today, this rare European-spec 246 GT is an ideal basis for a show-quality restoration or simple preservation. Given its unique appearance and desirable specification, it is particularly suitable for display at Ferrari Club of America events.