Dino Ferrari, born in racing and with racing

“Papi don’t be upset, these are things that time fixes,” is how his son Dino used to approach dad Enzo Ferrari when the latter was going through moments of contrariness.

Alfredo Ferrari, known as Dino, was born in Modena on January 19, 1932, at which time his father, who was still a very valid driver, decided it was time to call it a day with the steering wheel. He finally dedicated himself to the role of manager and “agitator of men,” as he always defined his being manager of one of the most famous Scuderie in the World, the one that still bears his name.

Dino was born in racing and with racing.

Imbued with an exclusive passion for motor sports, he also became a driver first in a Topolino, then an 1100 TV and finally, a 2-liter Ferrari. Having graduated as an industrial expert from the Corni Institute in Modena, he graduated as an engineer in Switzerland, discussing the design of a 4-cylinder 1500cc engine with two intake valves and one exhaust valve. Dino also attended the first year of Economics and Business at the University of Bologna.

The eldest son of the Drake and Laura Garello, Ferrari’s first wife, collaborated in the factory with commitment and competence.

He is credited, for example, with setting up the 1500cc engine with 6 cylinders in a 65-degree V shape that could meet the conditions of mechanical performance and overall dimensions: the 156, which was first ignited in November 1956, five months after his passing.

Suffering from muscular dystrophy, Dino passed away in Milan on June 30, 1956, leaving a great void in his father, an established manufacturer who saw in that heir the future for his company. His son’s illness, convinced Enzo Ferrari to carry out numerous charitable works. These included promoting a group of scholars dedicated to the disease and possible treatment at the Mario Negri Institute in Milan.

Many are the initiatives that Ferrari has taken, on the strength of his own figure known throughout the World, to spread awareness of this serious and inexorable disease. These include an annual scholarship through a trust to be given to young physicians referred by university clinics who can award researchers on the disease.

Ferrari wanted to win the disease as he did with his opponents on the track.

“I had never thought that a father could inherit from a son. Instead, this was the case, and only after Dino’s departure did I know fully where the goodness of this young man went ” Enzo Ferrari would write, dwelling on the well-known episode in San Marino in which, at the end of the climb to the fortress, he realized how serious his son was and was about to leave him.

The Imola racetrack was also dedicated to Dino Ferrari (who was later named after his father) in 1970.

Also dedicated to the late Drake’s heir was a brand name used by Fiat and Ferrari until the 1970s.
We remember in particular, the Dino 246 where the abbreviation 246 indicates the 2.4-liter displacement and the number of cylinders 6 with a V-shaped arrangement. The name Dino, was also later associated with the earlier 206 and the later 208 and 308 GT4.

Quotes from the book “My Terrible Joys – Story of My Life” written by Enzo Ferrari published by Mondadori in October 2016

Alexander Zelioli