A Bring a Trailer bidder just seized the chance to turn back time and cop a classic Ferrari Dino 246 GTS once owned by Cher.
The debut of the Dino 246 GT and its Spider variant, the Dino 246 GTS, was an answer to the somewhat underwhelming output of the earlier Dino 206 GT, which Ferrari had priced accessibly to compete with other sports cars of the era.
The 206 ran a 2.0-liter Dino V6 producing 160 horses, while the 246 got a larger 2.4-liter Dino V6 engines producing 192 horses. The more powerful model proved a resounding success that resulted in a 3,500-example production run, an unprecedented number for Ferrari at the time.
One of the 1,274 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS variants produced from 1971 to 1974 was purchased by Cher in December of 1972. As Car and Driver points out, Ferrari and famed body constructor Scaglietti updated the 246 regularly throughout its life cycle, but the most significant change—other than the introduction of the GTS Spyder variant in 1971—was the addition of the targa top in 1972.
This was right around the time that the Cher was experiencing the first true peak in a career that’s seen many. The “Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves” singer had previously established herself as a successful solo act outside of the Sonny and Cher duo that gave the future “Goddess of Pop” her first taste of the fame. But this was also during the husband and wife’s peak popularity as a unit, as The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour variety show was about halfway through a widely watched three-season run.
Amid all of this on December 14, 1972, she bought this very targa-topped 1972 Dino 246 GTS from Hollywood Sports Cars before personalizing her Prancing Horse with a “CHERS” vanity plate in March of the following year. Two years later, Cher divorced Bono and sold this 246 to IMSA driver Chris Cord.
While her relationship with this particular 246 ended there, C&D adds that she bought another blue 246 GTS painted with white pinstripes that appeared on one of her People magazine covers and in a paparazzi photo of her and a young Tatum O’Neal.
Today, the vehicle has been restored to its original Rosso Chiaro-over-black leather spec and shows 65,000 miles on the odometer. Hagerty values a 1972 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS in good condition at $495,000 and Excellent Condition at $610,000—the car probably falls under one of those two classifications.
This ex-Cher ride sold for $568,000 on Bring a Trailer—somewhat of a steal, considering the celebrity provenance.