Fast cars have defined the rock and roll lifestyle since the musical genre’s very beginnings. It is hardly surprising, then, that the Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards, one of rock’s undisputed all-time greats, would gravitate toward the Ferrari Dino 246 GT, one of the 20th century’s all-time greatest sports cars.
Like Richards himself, the Ferrari Dino—the brilliantly balanced, V-6-powered machine with gorgeous Scaglietti bodywork—needs little introduction. This car, chassis number 03354, is an “E-Series” example that represents the 246 GT in its final, most mechanically advanced form. Its 2.4-liter engine produced up to 192 horsepower, and it was paired with a five-speed gearbox.
Completed on 10 February 1972, chassis 03354 was finished in Argento Metallizzato over Nero Connolly leather. A United States-specification car, it featured Veglia Borletti instrumentation in miles. Though the report on file from Ferrari historian Marcel Massini indicates that this Dino was initially sold to an industrial concern in Michigan, it was in fact Richards (a client with, it goes without saying, substantial sway) that first took delivery of the car in in California in June 1972 via Bill Harrah’s Modern Classic Motors.
Richards shipped his Dino to England in 1975 and registered it on the plates “GYL 157N.” He is then said to have used the car for personal transportation during European tours, accumulating over 25,000 miles—and no small number of untold, and possibly unprintable, stories—over the following decade.
A letter from Rolling Stones touring manager Alan Dunn dated 25 April 1986, a copy of which is on file, confirms Richards’ initial purchase, his ownership, and the recorded mileage (25,122) at the time of its sale into a private collection in Japan. Returning to Europe in 2014, the Dino was then acquired by another musician: Liam Howlett, co-founder of British EDM band The Prodigy.
Soon after, it was submitted to noted specialist Joe Macari Performance Cars of London for a rebuild of its V-6 at a cost of nearly £60,000 (~$87,600); invoice copies for this, as well as further work spanning 2015–2018, are on file. The Ferrari was carefully maintained through the ownership of two subsequent caretakers, and it presents today much as it did when acquired by Richards in 1972. Still finished in subtle, appealing Argento Metallizzato over Nero, it rides on Cromadora alloy wheels shod in Michelin XWX tires, with a spare underhood.
Showing 30,037 miles (believed to be original) at the time of cataloguing, this Dino 246 GT represents an opportunity to acquire a fantastic Ferrari with unrepeatable provenance—and unmatched star power.
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