A lightly camouflaged Ferrari prototype, rumoured to be the ‘Dino’, was caught undergoing winter testing in Sweden.
While this prototype wears body panels and components from both the 458 Italia and 488 GTB, the photographers who clicked the shot confirmed that it wasn’t powered by a V8 motor. And were able to tell from the engine note that it was indeed a V6 nestling under the hood. Could this be the long awaited return of the ‘Dino’ that was hinted by the car maker back in 2015? The suspicion strengthens when you know that the Dino has always been powered by a V6 powertrain.
Let’s delve deeper. Ferrari originally designed the 2.9-litre twin turbo V6 motor that currently powers the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, a perfect contender which makes 505bhp and 600Nm of torque. If Ferrari sources this engine from Alfa Romeo while adding other components from the existing 458 and 488 parts bin (like seen in the test mule), it would drag costs down considerably which makes perfect business sense. Now, the last time this prototype was spied in 2015, it had 458 body panels with reworked air intakes and a V6 engine note.
If the Dino makes it back to the Ferrari line-up once again, it’s expected to lock horns with the Aston Martin’s Vantage, Mercedes-AMG GT, McLaren 540C, and the Porsche 911.
