Love at first sight, with the Ferrari Dino 206

My heart stopped. I had never ever seen a car of such beautiful design, of such style. I was absolutely transfixed. Hello, I'm Charles. I've owned a Dino chassis number 05286 for 54 years. I went to the 1968 Le Mans 24-hour race with a friend and an MGB, but a very special car took my attention, and in the Parc Fermé there was a 206 Dino. It just looked absolutely fantastic. No other car in the world compared with that. I was flying helicopters at the time in the army, and by putting my savings into the pot, I just had enough. And the Dino, 53, nearly 54 years later, is standing on the exact spot as I first saw it. I was absolutely overwhelmed with delight. To me, just sitting in it was a dream come true. With its four exhaust pipes, the sloping windscreen and the engine, 2.4 litre V6, you've got that most lovely whirring change of mechanical perfection. It looks so perfect. It was so perfect. Its proportions were amazing. I used to go, and still do, to Prescott Speed Hill Climb. Ferrarianos of the more modern Ferraris are really quite thrilled to see the Dino that they now regard a classic car. It has never been rebuilt or refurbished or anything, and therefore the doors close with such a reassuring clunk. The clutch, gearbox and everything, nothing has been restored, nothing has been removed. I fitted a radio with a microphone on the end of a coiled cable, so I could record the wonderful noise of me going up through the gears really fast in the engine. A rather childish thing to do, but it was nevertheless a bit of a thrill, I thought. It is oh so special, and I just go back to the days almost emotionally. The Dino will never be sold. It's best that I hand over the Dino, but it'll be in wonderful hands with our son, Piers. He loves it, he treasures it, he drives it beautifully. I can't remember very much what happened during the 1968 Le Mans 24 Hours, other than I'd set sight on the car of my dreams. Perfection.