Exclusive, rally-bred Ferrari 288 GTO Evoluzione on auction

When the world rally championship was at the height of popularity in the mid-eighties, every manufacturer salivated at the prospect of competing, including Ferrari who eyed the Group B crowd of insanely fast dirt-road missiles.

Regulations required that 200 road-going versions of the cars had to be homologated for road use, and this is how the 288 GTO came to exist.

The car was based on the 308 GTB and became the 288 GTO (Gran Turismo Omologato) when a raft of modifications were applied to it, including an extended wheelbase.

A mid-mounted, dry-sump and twin-turbo 2.9l V8 with 300kW powered the concept and the mishmash of a body was constructed using a mix of composite materials and resin.

Only 272 GTO units were made for street use, but it was Italian coachworks gurus at Pininfarina who were tasked with reworking it into the competition-spec 288 Evoluzione.

Using Kevlar, Fibreglass and carbon fibre as a rear wing, thereby reducing its heft to 940kg, it also benefited from enlarged turbos and additional engine tuning.

The regular GTO could accelerate from standstill to 100km/h in 4.9 seconds and reach a top speed of 305km/h, but the Evoluzione with mod-cons that developed 485kW and ran to 370km/h never turned a wheel in anger at any Group B stages.

A dream deferred

On May 2 1986, a year before its intended rally debut, Finnish driver Henri Toivonen and his American co-driver, Sergio Cresto, died when their Lancia Delta S4 plunged down a ravine and exploded at the Tour de Corse rally in Corsica — the incident that finished Group B for good.

With the dream deferred, only six Evoluzione were eventually made, making it one of the rarest and highly sought after 1980s Ferraris.

Now chassis number ZFFPX16X0J0079888 was on auction a few days ago at RM Sotheby’s. It was originally owned by Belgian industrialist and racer Jean “Beurlys” Blaton.

By 1992, chassis number 79888 had returned to the ownership of Garage Francorchamps and Jacques Swaters, and remained with him until 2006. At this time, the car was sold to a private collector in the UK.

The year after, the car was sold to the Quebec-based billionaire and now Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll, a noted Ferrari collector.

Remaining in Stroll’s collection for six years, the car was sold to Rick White of California in April of 2013. A year later, the car was sold to David SK Lee of Los Angeles before being acquired by David Raisbeck in late 2014.

The car was also shown at the 2015 Cavallino Classic where it won a Platinum award and the Supercar Cup. The next year, the car was shown at the Ferrari Club of America Annual Meet in Columbus, Ohio, as well as at the special US edition of the Finali Mondiali at Daytona. This special car passed to its current European custodian in 2019 and has been carefully cared for since.

Recent work on the car includes  a variety of cosmetic alterations; it was fully repainted in the original Rosso Corsa and the intake system and heat exchanger were polished, while the cylinder head covers were repainted. The dashboard covers, seat covers, seat belts, door windows and rear-view mirror glass were all replaced.

Mechanical work included a full service and numerous perishable parts were replaced including the fuel lines, oil lines, brake fuel lines and driveshaft boots.

The suspension dampers and brake calipers were overhauled, along with the water pump and both turbos. New tyres were fitted and all four wheels were overhauled. The original gearbox was also overhauled so all internal seals and the clutch shaft could be replaced.

All work carried out on the car by Michelotto totalled to over €133,000 (about R2.3m)

Ferrari Classiche Certified retains its fully matching original engine and gearbox.