Farewell – it’s been memorable!

My Dino has gone - to Australia, and to someone who will, I believe, cherish it for many years into the future. It has been a great experience, but sadly my five years of Dino ownership are now over. Why did I sell it, you may ask. Well, it was the luck of the draw. Let me explain.

By the beginning of this year, one thing had become clear to me, namely that I had too many cars: 6, ignoring DDs – not a great many by some people’s standards, but too many for me. Ownership was becoming as much a chore as a pleasure, none was being used as much as it should (cars IMO are for driving, not just polishing / admiring), and it was time to reduce my collection. So, on my 65th. birthday in February, I set myself a goal to go from 6 to 3 (not reckoning on the problems that would present themselves only a few weeks later).

What was not clear, however, was which ones I wanted to sell, because I didn't want to sell any of them individually. Each one was special, so, whichever way I looked at it, the “keep” list outnumbered the “sell” list by 6 to 0.

The Porsche 964 was a brilliant little car, with emphasis on the word "little" - its size was a great advantage. Any 911 is special, but the 964 was the perfect compromise between old and new: it was the last 911 that actually looked like Butzi Porsche’s 901, and the first that came with the modern conveniences that made it an agreeable DD (which it was when I first acquired it). I had bought it with a legacy from my mother who died in 2000, so it was her last present to me. I had owned it for getting on for 20 years and had done 65,000 miles in it. It was part of the family. So, no, I couldn’t possibly let it go.

The Maranello was the fulfilment of a childhood dream: I had grown up in an era when Ferraris had V12s in front of the driver, and the first Ferrari that made a lasting impression on me was the 500 Superfast. The Maranello is an amazingly capable car (a far more capable driver than am I, that’s for sure) and a bridge between the traditional berlinettas of the '60s and the modern cars of today. Nothing Ferrari has made after the Maranello floats my boat, Daytonas and their predecessors are not within my price range, and the flat 12s are not what my childhood memories say a Ferrari should be. So, no, I couldn’t possibly let it go.

E-types have been in my blood since I first saw one 57 years ago. An E-type was the car that first kindled my passion for beautiful and exotic machinery, and if Enzo Ferrari didn’t say that it was the most beautiful car in the world, he should have done. I bought my first one at the age of 19, though insurance issues meant that I did not keep it for very long. My present car is my third, and my ideal: a '63 3.8 FHC, in BRG / suede green. They don't come any better IMO. So, no, I couldn’t possibly let it go.

The Dino is also a car that held special memories for me, from the time when, in my early 20s, I had been let loose in one at Goodwood on a track day organised for the directors / owners of Modena Engineering. I had promised myself then that one day I would have one and, almost 40 years later, I raided my pension fund and made good on that promise. I shall never forget the greatest road trip of my life, 2,500 miles to Maranello and back for the Dino’s 50th. anniversary celebration in 2018. It is certainly the best car I have ever owned, and may be the best car that Ferrari ever made. So, no, I couldn’t possibly let it go.

The Maserati Granturismo is, IMO, the most beautiful of Pininfarina’s 21st. century designs, and its engine note, without the need for any electronic enhancement, one of the best of any modern car. Collecting it personally from the factory in Modena was a wonderful experience, which I am unlikely ever to repeat. It is not a great car, but a very satisfying one to own, and it was very special for me. So, no, I couldn’t possibly let it go.

And then there’s the Bentley. Totally different from the rest, but a wonderful driving / ownership experience in its own inimitable way - the true “drawing room on wheels”, with the best appointed interior of all my cars, and a worthy successor to WO’s masterpiece, the 8-litre. The Turbo R is the car that turned Bentley from a badge-engineered Rolls-Royce on the brink of extinction, into a successful marque in its own right, outselling its R-R brethren by 4 to 1, and so securing its future. It has a surprising turn of speed, but yet is so relaxing that one never really feels the need to exploit that speed – one just feels content to waft along in great comfort and style, and let the world rush by. Like the Porsche, I have owned it for a long time – almost 18 years. I have driven my two nephews and my niece to their weddings in it, and fully expect to do the same service for my daughter one day, so it, too, is part of the family. And it is the only one of my “toys” in which my wife really enjoys travelling. So, no, I couldn’t possibly let it go.​

So, each one had a special place in my affections, and several good reasons not to be sold: there was no obvious choice to be on the list, let alone three. After long deliberation, I decided that the only thing to do was to put them all up for sale and let fate, and the market, decide for me. They were all ambitiously priced, but I don’t think that in itself deterred any serious buyers.

fThe result was that the 964 was the first to go, followed by the Dino and then the Maserati (to which I shall admit that I gave a little push, largely to prevent the 550 from being the next casualty – to lose one Ferrari is unfortunate, to lose two would seem like carelessness, with a apologies to Lady Bracknell), leaving me with the 550, the Jaguar and the Bentley (and a ‘72 VW T2 campervan, but that is the property of my wife).

I loved my Dino, enjoyed every one of the 6,133 miles I drove in it, and shed a tear or two when it went, but the memories will last me a lifetime.

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Thankyou all for your contributions. Yes, I feel very privileged to have enjoyed my spell of Dino ownership, and of this car in particular. Many happy memories.

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Thankyou, Andres, you are very kind. I am sorry, too, but I was privileged to enjoy four happy years of Dino ownership, not something to which many people can lay claim, and some wonderful memories. I shall never forget taking my Dino back to its birthplace, driving it around Fiorano (albeit at a leisurely pace!), into the heart of the factory, and out under that iconic archway - something not that many owners have been fortunate enough to have done, I imagine.

I know exactly what you mean about not knowing which cars to sell. It was the same for me. In the end, I could not make up my mind to sell any of them, so I had to let fate decide for me. That the Dino was one of those which went, was decided by a higher power than me!