One to Buy: Arancio 1972 Fiat Dino 2400 Spider
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While certain aspects of Pininfarina’s stunning 206 P-based Dino Berlinetta Speciale that appeared at the 1965 Paris Motor Show were adopted for Ferrari’s mid-engined Dino road car, the most striking detail from this seminal design concept – its four circular headlights mounted within a full width aperture – were used on the Fiat-badged Dino Spider.
Like the Fiat Dino Coupe and Ferrari Dino GT, the Fiat Dino Spider started life with an all-alloy dual overhead cam V6 which was later switched for an iron-block 2.4-litre motor that boasted an additional 20bhp (180bhp as opposed to 160bhp).
Unveiled at the Turin Motor Show in October 1969, the Fiat Dino Spider 2400 boasted much more that just a bigger engine though and, despite an almost identical appearance to its predecessor, was extensively modified under the skin.
Perhaps most notably, the original car’s rigid rear axle was updated to an independently sprung back end which also now came equipped with an anti-roll bar. Bigger, more effective brakes were also fitted along with five-bolt as opposed to centre-lock wheels.
Other mechanical changes included a ZF gearbox and limited-slip diff to replace the original Fiat-built items. Cosmetically, a few subtle changes were made to the exterior and interior and build quality was much-improved.
In total, just 420 copies of the 2.4-litre Fiat Dino Spider were manufactured between 1969 and 1972 compared to 1163 examples of the earlier two-litre version.
Currently, one of the nicest examples of the 2400 Spider we’ve seen is residing at the Ruote da Sogno showroom in Reggio Emilia. Immaculately restored in the striking combination of Arancio over Nero, it comes from the final year of production and looks to be in superb order throughout.
