Ferrari 288 GTO (1984)

G,T and O are three letters that adorn the world's most desirable and arguably most valuable Ferrari. Second generation GTO's were born during the early 1980's when many leading motor manufacturers thought FISA's Group B regulations would evolve into the definitive platform for showcasing their most technologically advanced machinery. In order to qualify for Group B, FISA stipulated that 200 identical road cars had to be produced and sold to the public for homologation to be granted. However, Group B was destined to become a stillborn series and much to the disappointment of race fans the world over, Ferrari's 288 and the Porsche 959 never took to the track in anger. Nevertheless, like Porsche, Ferrari decided to go ahead with a limited production run for their super high performance Group B challengers. The 288 was the first mid-engined Ferrari street car to be fitted with a longitudinally mounted engine, this was an all-alloy Tipo F114B 90° V8 with a capacity of 2855cc producing a phenomenal 400bhp at 7000rpm thanks to twin IHI turbochargers at 0.8 bar of boost while Behr intercoolers cooled the charge air. As a result zero to sixty MPH was just 4.8 seconds and a top speed of 189mph was possible. These astounding figures meant Ferrari's 288 GTO arrived as the fastest production car in the world on its 1984 launch.

Please note, this vehicle is no longer for sale.

• Supplied new to Turin 22nd February 1985
• 22.02.1985 - Supplied new to Oreste Blumenthal by Symbol Car S.p.A
• 1985 - Purchased by Mr Novello of Turin
• 15.05.2017 - Purchased by current keeper

This example was delivered new to Oreste Blumenthal of Torino Italy via Walter Bordese Ferrari of Torino on 22nd February 1985. Oreste Blumenthal was the son in law of Giuseppe Ratti, the founder of Persol Sunglasses and CEO whilst during his ownership of the car.

Servicing would be taken care of by a local master technician, who had departed Ferrari’s concessionaire and set up by himself. Señor Rossi was regarded as the go-to in the area, looking after countless very special Ferraris including a 250 TdF, 250 GTO and numerous 250 SWBs. Having set up his own garage and building a loyal client base, he also worked on contemporary cars at the time.

Blumenthal would retain the car for 14 years covering some 20,000 km. Sharing a garage with his recently acquired Ferrari F50, Blumenthal had mentioned his appetite to move the 288 GTO along and after a good word from Rossi, the car would change hands to Mr Remo Novello in 1998 who had seen the car in the workshop whilst his F355 had been in for service work!

Novello would keep the car at his residence in Turin and use the car sparingly over 9 years, covering just under 3,000 km in that time. The current custodian purchased the car in May 2017 and treated to a thorough overhaul by Autofficina Bonini prior to delivery. In 2022, this 288 GTO was displayed at Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este in Class G: Pioneers that chased the magic 300 kph.The car has been exclusively maintained by marque experts Bob Houghton by the current custodian, most recently in October 2024.

This example today presents with 24,900 km is available to view at our showrooms outside London immediately.