Despite denials from general manager Amedeo Felisa that such a project even exists, Ferrari appears to be well down the road to introducing an entry-level model Porsche 911 competitor carrying the illustrious Dino name.

According to high-ranking insiders at parent company Fiat in Turin, the new Ferrari is very much alive and in the early stage of development in partnership with Maserati. Sources say crude prototypes exist, but the car likely won’t be introduced before 2009.

Supplier sources say Ferrari is gearing up to build some 4000 Dinos annually. Rumor has it the car was designed by Pininfarina with input from former Ferrari design boss Frank Stephenson, who now heads Fiat’s Centro Stile operation.

The starting point for the entry-level Ferrari is a front-engine platform under development by Maserati for its upcoming Coupe replacement due in early 2007. Known internally under the codename M139, its rear-wheel-drive underpinnings are related to those in the Maserati Quattroporte, but they receive their own tighter wheelbase and track widths to give the new Ferrari more compact dimensions.

To keep weight down, the body is built with carbon fiber and aluminum. Sources suggest the Alfa Romeo 8C is serving as a pattern for the new Ferrari, most notably in the area of body construction and materials.

Secrecy surrounds the body style; early claims had Maranello considering a folding-hardtop arrangement, but it now appears the Dino may be offered in coupe guise only to keep the car’s weight in check.

Unlike the original 206 Dino and its more illustrious predecessor, the 246, the coming Dino is likely to go without V6 power. Instead, the car will run a 4.0-liter variant of Maserati’s highly versatile V8 producing about 400 hp.

Ferrari’s decision to base the Dino on a Maserati mechanical package seems to contradict the company’s no-compromise engineering mantra. However, the two carmakers are already closely linked in other business areas. The 4.3-liter, 490-hp V8 engine used in the 430 Modena, for example, is closely related to the 4.2-liter, 400-hp unit found in the Quattroporte. Ferrari Enzo provided the basis for the Maserati MC12. There are also plans, unfulfilled at this stage, to drop the 612 Scaglietti’s 5.5-liter, 540-hp V12 engine into the engine bay of a new range-topping Quattroporte model to create a Mercedes-Benz S-Class rival.

One more linkage? Ferrari may choose Maserati’s heavily refurbished factory in Modena to build its modern-day Dino. Given the high percentage of Maserati parts in the Dino, it would appear a highly cost-effective alternative. AutoWeek sources also contend that Ferrari is in talks with Pininfarina as a possible production partner.

Spy photographers have captured what could be the first proof that Ferrari is working on a new Dino. These pictures purportedly show a test mule of the new car, which became the subject of multiple rumors in recent weeks. Based on a F430 body, the test car doesn't give away anything about how the Dino will look, but it does seem to confirm development is underway.

The prototype's front fenders are a little wider and the side rocker panels are missing due to a different cooling system. It also looks like the area around gearbox and rear axle is slightly different. Another characteristic that identifies the test car as a mule for the Dino is its engine sound — spies say it was less sharp sounding than the a F430, and just plain different. Output is expected around 400 horsepower.

Spies also noticed both a BMW M6 and Aston Martin V8 Vantage going in and out at the Ferrari facility in Maranello, so it seems like they are the main target for the Dino as well as the legendary Porsche 911. While the F430 is about 160,000 euros, the Dino will start between 100,000 and 110,000 euros.

Ferrari today shot down rumors that it was readying a new model positioned below the $170,000 F430 coupe. Speaking at a press conference today at the Los Angeles auto show, General Manager Amedeo Felisa spoke specifically about rumors of a new Dino.

Ferrari today shot down rumors that it was readying a new model positioned below the $170,000 F430 coupe. Speaking at a press conference today at the Los Angeles auto show, General Manager Amedeo Felisa directly addressed recent rumors in the automotive press about a new Dino.

He said the company has absolutely no plans for a "cheap" Ferrari. Felisa made it clear the company would continue to compete in its current markets, with no plans for high-volume or modestly-priced sports cars.

It's the supercar scoop of the year! Auto Express has had exclusive access to insider details and can now reveal all the details of the Italian legend’s most important new model of the decade. Yes, the Dino is back!

These pictures show the new Ferrari 420 Dino, which our sources in Italy have confirmed will go on sale in 2010. Despite being conceived more than two years ago, the whole project only got the green light in September, and is scheduled to be unveiled at a major motor show in 2009.

Taking the latter part of its name from Enzo Ferrari’s son, our contacts are confident that the eventual title will be ‘420 Dino’, with the number referring to the V8 engine’s size.

Back in Italy, one fierce debate is still raging between Ferrari, Pininfarina – the car’s designer – and Ferrari’s owner, Fiat. While all indicators still lean toward the Dino being a coupé-cabriolet with a folding hard-top, some bosses would prefer to launch the entry-level model as a berlinetta hard-top GTB first, followed soon after by a targa GTS.

This would follow the trend set by the 246 Dino GT and GTS from 1968 and 1971, and the 308 GTB and GTS from 1975 and 1977.

Whatever is chosen, annual Dino production is figured to be anywhere between 3,500 and 5,000 cars, and Ferrari has actively sought partners to help lower and spread out the massive manufacturing costs. One company involved is aluminium specialist Alcoa, who will be making the spaceframe chassis in a new facility in Modena, Italy. The outer shell will be constructed from carbon fibre.

The new Dino started life as a Maserati in 2004. However, Ferrari’s then sister firm changed its plans, deciding to develop a luxurious Quattroporte-based coupé to rival the Mercedes CL instead. So Ferrari adopted the chassis and technology for the Dino.

Unlike the classic original, the newcomer will get a front-mounted V8. The unit is expected to be an all-aluminum 90-degree 4.2-litre unit with around 480bhp.

Inside, the Dino will be the first Ferrari to get standard-fit satellite navigation. The cabin promises to be practical, and alongside the carbon fibre trim shown, an aluminium finish will also be available. Transmission options haven’t been confirmed, but the paddleshifters are likely to control an automated manual.

Aimed squarely at Porsche’s 911 Turbo and Aston Martin’s V8 Vantage, the Dino will be priced between £82,000 and £90,000. This will make the Ferrari badge more accessible, but will also leave room for the F430 to move upmarket. We can also reveal plans to give that model a 550bhp 5.0-litre V10 by the end of 2008. An all-new replacement for the F430 is also already on the drawing board, and is scheduled for 2010.

Ferrari Dino Concept design is the modernized version of the successful Ferrari Dino produced by Ferrari.

The goal was to create a car that feels stylish, modern, dynamic and organic while staying true to the original design language of the Ferrari Dino and Ferrari brand in general.

The main characteristic of the Dino Concept design is the way it looks similar to the original Dino. With very round styling elements around the wheelbases and its cockpit, it looks retro and modern at the same time. With the right proportions combined, the car looks very dynamic and stylish. It stays true to its original with the design of the rear and the front being rounded and avoiding the hard edges as much as possible. Also the rear window opening is a striking feature originating from the original Ferrari Dino. The air intakes scoops however are very different compared to the original Dino, they look very organic and visually add a very organic feel to the car.

Don't believe your eyes. This Ferrari prototype caught on the streets around Germany's Nurburgring race track is not the next generation 599 GTB Fiorano – it's the rebirth of Ferrari's legendary Dino nameplate.

That's right. Ferrari is set to revive one of its most famous badges on a future performance coupe.

Take a closer look at this prototype mule, particularly at the front wheel-arch in the picture taken from the rear. The 599's body clearly overhangs a much smaller chassis underneath. Notice, too, the prototype rolls on smaller wheels and tyres than the 599 GTB Fiorano.

The prototype's oversized clothing is purely for reasons of convenience. The reborn Dino will house its engine under the bonnet and not behind the occupants like the 1969 original did. So, because the 599 GTB Fiorano is the only front-engine car in Ferrari's current stable, that left little choice when looking for a spare body to disguise the development chassis.

We do know that the reborn Dino will be shorter and narrower than the 599 GTB Fiorano, and sit on a more compact wheelbase. How much smaller is not known; but it's likely Ferrari will position the Dino alongside the 4.5m long F430 coupe.

How can Ferrari do that and not cannibalise sales of the F430? By making the two cars appeal to vastly different buyers. For starters the $400,000 F430 is a hard-edged performance coupe which appeals to younger, more aggressive drivers.

The $600,000 599 GTB Fiorano with its 6.0-litre V12 engine appeals to more mature buyers with significantly more money to spend.

Despite months of angry denials, sources insist that Ferrari will launch its new entry-level 2+2 coupe before the end of this year.

Word is that the new car, which Ferrari plans to debut at the Paris motor show in October, has a target price less than the F430's $190,000. A name for the new front-engined car is still anyone's guess. California, Dino and Piccolina ("little one") are possibilities for what is now called the F149 inside Ferrari. Ferrari hasn't even

confirmed the car's existence, much less verified its name, and there are no guarantees that it will ever wear a Ferrari badge (the Dino never did), which would make Ferrari's denials technically correct.

Regardless of its moniker, the new car will break two important pieces of new ground for Ferrari, with a direct-fuel-injection engine and a folding steel hardtop roof designed and built by Pininfarina.

Ferrari has tested the F149 in and around the Maranello factory with almost complete immunity from spy photographers, because most have been fooled by its disguise

as a Maserati GranTurismo convertible. The F149 will be based on heavily modified GranTurismo architecture, which means the big Maserati coupe has provided the

perfect cover for Ferrari's most important debutante.

The new direct-injection engine, codenamed F136Y, will have a capacity of about 4.3 liters but will owe little more than its engine block to the existing F430's high-revving V8. Sources say it will have all-new injection rails, new intakes, new cylinder heads and new valvetrains and will debut a type of throttle body never used before. Direct injection will bring an instant fuel-efficiency increase of between 5 and 8 percent, and an all-new gearbox will provide additional gains.

The new Ferrari will spearhead the Italian brand's push toward 10,000 cars a year.

It will be assembled on a refurbished Maranello production line with less in-house manufacturing than ever before and will be expected to contribute about 4000 sales a year almost immediately. Ferrari's current volume is more than 6000 cars a year, three-quarters of which are F430 V8s.

The folding steel hardtop will make it a Ferrari for all seasons, with Pininfarina using the F149 to demonstrate new lightweight technology with shorter folded roof sections to minimize trunk length. This move means close collaboration with Pininfarina (and Magna Steyr), and there is speculation that a massive proportion of the car actually could be built at Pininfarina's assembly plant rather than in Maranello.

Need more intrigue? We hear that the car's design and engineering have created seething frustration inside Maserati. Sources confirm that the new 2+2 is based on the M139 Spyder, developed by Pininfarina and Maserati and shown to Ferrari management in 2003--when Ferrari technically owned Maserati.

The concept car also had a folding steel roof and was essentially a shorter-wheelbase, 2+1 (yes, one rear seat) version of the coupe concept that became the GranTurismo. Ferrari killed the Maserati in '05, and the M139 Spyder plans formed the basis of the F149.

Although it has been heavily reworked in the interim, with the architecture modified for rigidity and weight, the front suspension changed and a new engine, sources insist that it still owes its origins to the canceled Maserati.

Everyone knows that Ferrari is hatching a baby the size of some popular German roadsters. What we don’t know yet, is whether Dino, F149 or California GT will be on the name badge. The pictures shown are the newest on the block, revealing the car for the first time without its notorious hunchback that’s been a trademark ever since we first spied this Ferrari testing.

Ferrari is not isolated from the rest of the world, and as such they are working on ways to impress the green cops. One of these is of course the turbo which is rumoured to be on its way back to Formula One where Ferrari tests a lot of their future on-road technology. Engine upfront, two doors, driven by the rear wheels. We sincerely hope that underneath what is probably one of the ugliest ducklin camouflage jobs out there, is a princely swan.

There is no more denying it!! Despite numerous denials Ferrari has finally confirmed what we had all expected, they are in fact working on a brand new model and the name – Ferrari Grand Tourer.

The Italians have created a special site for the new model at www.ferrarigtcountdown.com and before the official unveiling at the Paris Motor Show in September, we can look forward to a number of teasers as the new model is revealed bit by bit. Just to get those juices flowing, Ferrari have began with a few soundbites and trust us, they are well worth heading over there for a few seconds of bliss. Despite earlier speculation stating the Grand Tourer will be powered by a V6, the engine certainly sounds to have the bite of a V8.

The new model will slot in at the bottom of the Ferrari portfolio and is expected to be priced in the region of €110,000 with around 4000 units being produced each year.

Ferrari 149
But don't call Maranello's latest an "entry-level" Ferrari. Actually, this front-engine rear-drive 2-seater is the Italian automaker's response to increasing concerns about the automobile's impact on the environment. Instead of pursuing more displacement and maximum power, the new philosophy concentrates on delivering a high power-to-weight ratio. As a result, this first front-engine V-8 road car in the company's history will take its place alongside the F430 in the lineup, perhaps priced marginally less.

While it shares some similarities with the larger V-12-powered 612 Scaglietti and 599 GTB, the shorter wheelbase and lighter weight of the car promise outstanding performance. Codenamed F149, the car also boasts a retractable hardtop. Contrary to speculation that the car would be marketed as a Dino, a Ferrari spokesman insists that this new model is a full-fledged member of the company's lineup. "It is a true Ferrari and will perform like one," the executive stressed. Expect the engine to displace 4.3 liters and produce something on the order of 450 bhp.