Conceived during a pivotal moment in Ferrari’s competition history, this Fiat Dino Berlinetta Speciale is one of the most fascinating Italian concept cars of the 1960s. Its origins lie in Ferrari’s need to homologate the new 2-liter Dino V-6 for Formula 2 competition, following FIA regulation changes for the 1967 season that required a production-based engine with a minimum annual output of 500 units. As Ferrari’s own production volumes fell well short of this threshold, manufacturing of the V-6 was entrusted to Fiat, which installed the engine in its own Dino Spider and Coupe models. This engine was also used in the fantastic Ferrari Dino 206 GT that debuted in 1968.

Against this technical backdrop, Pininfarina tasked designer Paolo Martin to explore the aerodynamic possibilities of the Dino platform. Born in Torino in 1943, Martin began working in 1960 for Giovanni Michelotti’s Studio Tecnico and in 1967 he was hired by Bertone. One year later, he became Chief of the Styling Department at Carrozzeria Pininfarina. Martin is most well-known today for his outrageous, groundbreaking Ferrari Modulo Concept of 1970.

Unveiled at the 1967 Paris Motor Show and displayed by Pininfarina, the Dino Berlinetta Speciale was clearly influenced by the work of German aerodynamicist Wunibald Kamm, featuring a long sloping shape that ended in a sharply truncated “Kamm tail.” Finished in white, the car’s low-slung profile and sculpted bodywork emphasized its aerodynamic ambitions, and, it was a futuristic vision and looked like nothing that had come before it.

For the 1968 Geneva Motor Show, the concept was refined, featuring a less dramatic rear treatment and appearing much closer to a production car. The Speciale’s front-end treatment, with its flat, low nose, clearly influenced Martin’s design for the Ferrari Modulo that debuted two years later. For the Geneva show, the Fiat had been refinished in one of the greatest of all 1960s automotive colors, Rosso Dino (Dino Red), a vibrant hue more orange than red, and a highly desirable Ferrari color then and today. Featuring dramatically styled seats and a handsome perforated dashboard, the Fiat’s interior was replete with numerous unique details. The distinctive shape of its body created an inviting, spacious, and light-filled cabin.

After the Geneva show, Pininfarina retained the Speciale at their Torino headquarters for 23 years, until 1991, when it was sold to an Italian collector. In 2000, it was purchased by a private French collection and in 2022, the consignor acquired the Dino, bringing it to the US and fulfilling a dream to own a true 1960s concept car. He was delighted to find the Fiat in a remarkable state of preservation, displaying beautiful, lightly patinated exterior and interior finishes, with the odometer showing under 6,000 km, or around 3,700 miles.

The consignor had the Speciale returned to running and driving condition and debuted it later that year at The Bridge VI in Bridgehampton, New York to great acclaim, as many in attendance did not know the car ever existed, having led such a sequestered life. The Dino was next displayed in 2023 at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, and in 2024 it was shown at the prestigious Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, where it received the Trofeo ASI Award for the Best Preserved Postwar car. In 2025, the Fiat was shown in the Postwar Preservation class at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance®.

A testament to the consignor’s dedication and meticulous nature, he was able to purchase an original set of Pininfarina photographs of the car, along with design sketches, advertisements and articles, which accompany the sale. Wonderfully preserved, the Dino survives today very much the way it was presented at Geneva in 1968. This is an exceptional opportunity, offering a rare, unfiltered glimpse into Pininfarina’s design experimentation at the beginning of the Dino era. As both an aerodynamic study and a fully realized automobile, it stands among the most significant and collectible Italian design prototypes of the postwar period.