It's a "to die for" car. Oonagh Charleton meets a man with a mouth-watering 1972 Ferrari Dino 246 GT
Sitting in a 1972 Ferrari Dino 246 GT in a small coastal village, we can't help but draw attention to ourselves. And, with several interested onlookers and an excited MG owner, I get a serious glimpse of what Loren Bushell's driving experiences are like.
Five minutes later I'm rumbling down the main Drogheda to Dublin road with a V6 behind my ears and a dashboard that's more Italian than your average World Cup haircut. I feel like I'm sitting on a jet engine and, as we accelerate slightly, the response is instant and powerful.
"She is heavy on the steering," Loren shouts over the roar, " but I like that. You feel like you're actually driving the car." The curved rear window makes me feel closer to the road and an immaculate interior oozes rough sophistication.
It could be argued that the Ferrari Dino 246 GT was modelled exclusively on a well-formed female shape. Or so goes the tale of what inspired coach-builder Pininfarina, to build what is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful cars ever built.
Pininfarina, which looked extensively at how objects in nature were shaped by the wind, was one of the first companies to install a wind tunnel in 1972. The Dino 246, while never to wear a Ferrari badge, (it was marketed as a separate marque) is named after Enzo Ferrari's terminally ill son and then heir. Loren owns one of a probable three Ferrari 246 GTs in Ireland.
He travelled extensively in Europe before finding an immaculate specimen in Belgium - it took him over a decade to get his hands on one.
"I only desire certain classic cars," he explains. "Over 12 years ago I went to the Essen car show in Germany to have a look, because it is really hard to find something special in this country.
"I saw my first Dino there and I said to myself, I just have to get one of these. For the past three years, I've been looking around and it has been hard to get a good one."
With the youngest Dino now 29 years of age, no two are exactly the same. The total number built rests at around 2,487, all with steel tubular frames and lead panels loaded together to form a seamless body. The mid-engined location was inspired by racing practice and the 246 reached top road speeds of 140-148 mph. It was also Ferrari's answer to the underpowered 206, which carried a dainty two-litre engine and was no competition against a critical competitor, Porsche.
Loren believes the Dino to be "aesthetically, one of the most beautiful cars ever made". He may not be far from wrong.
"When you bring someone in to see it, they just can't help but smile at it. It really does make your heart beat. I mean some classics have been criticised by designers of other classics, but no area of the Dino design has ever been criticised. It really is stunning to look at and there is nothing really that you have to get used to."
One of the things that an Irish driver would have to adapt to is the dogleg gearbox - to move into first, you have to pull the stick towards you. Then, of course, there are the usual idiosyncrasies of a left-hand drive vehicle.
A driver can also go straight from first to third gear - Loren explains that in second gear the synchromesh is the weakest, and it does pay to allow the box a few minutes to warm up.
Running costs? Well, with a car over 30 years old, there is only a €50 charge for customs and €36 annual road tax, irrespective of engine size. Loren gets about 17 to 19 miles to the gallon, fills it once a week but admits to never really using it for everyday driving.
"I did a trip to Galway (from Co Louth) and it cost about €80 to get there and back including about 100 miles while I was there."
As for servicing . . . " well, as long as you service a car like this every 3,000 miles with a good synthetic oil, that's fine. I do most of the servicing myself."
Bushell, who believes a half-good mechanic should be up to a basic service for a Ferrari, has one bit of advice to wide-eyed Ferrari prospectors: "You should always buy the best car you can - and if you can't, save harder and get the best."
It's also easy for less upstanding mechanics to take one look at a Ferrari of this calibre and charge small fortunes to fix simple mechanical problems. "I got a quote of £1,000 to fix the solenoid and starter," says Loren, "but a man I know fully rebuilt it for €100.
He admits to being incredibly proud of his car and is intimately conscious of the effect it has on the general public. "Even a five-year-old child notices how different this car is," he smiles. "You can see their eyes getting wider. They know it's different. Also I find a lot of people driving very, very close to me, just trying to figure out what it is. It really does stand out like a sore thumb."
His dream car is Ferrari's California Spider, a soft-top 3-litre, five-cylinder engine, but, for the moment, he's incredibly content with what he has. My researches have failed to throw up any great flaws or critiques, so I ask Loren if he would change anything about his car. "Well," he responds after a long pause, "it has five-stud wheels, but what I'd really like are three-eared spinners," a more controversial set of rims.
The Dino spends every night in a special air chamber to protect the body and prevent exposure to the elements. It's a strategy designed to preserve both the value and the legacy of this Ferrari.
So, who gets to drive it? "A very happy brother for one, a Mrs Bushell and me, hopefully, whenever I'm passing through again!"