Fiat Dino Spider (1967) by Jan Wiebe Tolman. Distinction. 

As a car company, Tolman Drachten has been a household name in the region for decades and has a strong position as a Toyota dealer (since 1983). But this story is more about the history (from 1956) of the Fiat, Alfa and Lancia dealership.

By: Dirk de Jong

It all started in Beetsterzwaag with the first location. At the opening of the second branch in 1969, Leonard Lang (the Fiat Importer) came by with an eye-catching Fiat Dino Coupé. Jan Wiebe Tolman was then still too small to get an impression of this Italian beauty, but that would change much later when he took over the business from his father.

A story of inspiration

Jan Wiebe: “A car is designed and produced, an ordinary piece of tin on wheels, a mass product that makes it easy for us to move around. After working life, the cars we sold were often traded in again. At that time they were just old cars. There was no way they could ever become classics. And let's be honest, old cars weren't kept, were they?”

Doubt?

Jan Wiebe: “In 1995 we once had the opportunity to take over a few trade-ins from a colleague dealer, including a Fiat Dino Spider for an amount of no less than 10.000 guilders. The doubt came, after all a Fiat Dino was an expensive car and there was very little interest in it from a business point of view."

Jump to 2007

Meanwhile, the Fiat Dino Spider had made an impression. It was now about the special form of execution, its own character and temperament. A race car from a special Italian stable. With the Fiat Dino spider it was all about the beautiful design and technical perfection. A sublime combination of elegance and sportiness.

The quest

As a dealer, it used to be possible to request data from the RDW to see how many Spider drivers were still registered in the Netherlands. In 2008 this was no longer possible due to privacy, so the search was continued online. In March 2020, an originally silver Fiat Dino appeared from Denver (Colorado), which was later repainted in an Italian red color and offered because the owner had died. Confidence arose through the e-mail traffic and the stories turned out to be correct, so that a decision was made to purchase. When the Fiat Dino spider arrived in a container, it felt like the first crush for Jan Wiebe. (We know it never goes away.) But the realization also came that there was a long road of restoration ahead of him.

Plan of action

The Fiat Dino arrived in May 2020 and was technically examined directly in the company. Fully restored in and in October by Teun Hoekstra, one of the company's specialists. That meant: removing rust, stripping paint, repairing minor damage as usual with this type of restoration. In the summer of 2021, the car was ready for its Dutch nationality and of course for the driving pleasure of Jan Wiebe Tolman. A great story, inspiration gave the eager employees from Drachten the Fiat Dino Spider a new life. The enthusiasm for the work of art Fiat Dino also brought Jan Wiebe Tolman on the track of a Fiat Dino Coupé 2400 from 1972. The family is now complete and that it enriches him, that's for sure, isn't there more to say?

Also read:
- The 1967 car year. A selection. Part 3 (slot)
- Fiat Dino 2 Liter Bertone Coupé (1967). Italian purebred by Leon Schepers.
- Fiat 130 Coupé. Intended and unintentionally exclusive for fifty years