---
title: Ferrari 288 GTO · HICONIUM
description: "Ferrari built the GTO around Group B’s 200-car threshold, sold that first allocation before the March 1984 reveal, and added 72 more. A longitudinal twin-turbo V8 sat beneath a familiar outline."
canonical_url: https://hiconium.dev/vehicles/ferrari/288-gto
image: https://hiconium.dev/og/vehicle/ferrari/288-gto.png
market_as_of: "2026-09-01"
---

> HICONIUM · Index: https://hiconium.dev/llms.txt · Every page: append `.md` or send `Accept: text/markdown`.
> Path: [Home](https://hiconium.dev/) › [Vehicles](https://hiconium.dev/models) › [Ferrari](https://hiconium.dev/manufacturers/ferrari) › 288 GTO
> On this page: [The price and the proof](#the-price-and-the-proof) · [Model readouts](#model-readouts) · [Documented sales](#documented-sales) · [Ferrari revived the GTO badge for a championship proposition that disappeared before the car could enter it.](#overview-heading) · [Technical specifications](#technical-specifications) · [Powertrain](#powertrain) · [Performance](#performance) · [Chassis & body](#chassis-body) · [Production & identity](#production-identity) · [Two GTOs, no race record](#variants-heading) · [Ferrari 288 GTO](#gto) · [The Ferrari 288 GTO register](#the-ferrari-288-gto-register) · [GTO Evoluzione](#evoluzione) · [The GTO Evoluzione register](#the-gto-evoluzione-register) · [Numbers that moved](#numbers-that-moved) · [Heritage](#heritage)

![A red Ferrari 288 GTO, front three-quarter view on a rosso field with rising golden haze](https://hiconium.dev/images/cars/ferrari-288-gto/hero-wide-2560.jpg)

# 288 GTO

The race that never happened

Ferrari built the GTO around Group B’s 200-car threshold, sold that first allocation before the March 1984 reveal, and added 72 more. A longitudinal twin-turbo V8 sat beneath a familiar outline.

March 1984 reveal · 272 road cars · Group B homologation

## The price and the proof

Indicative road-car band €5.9M–€9.1M · 25 documented road sales · 25 recorded sales on file · market as of 2026-09-01. Modeled values are not observed sales. Nothing here is investment advice.

Confidence: medium. This is the observable 2026 prime, documented GTO band, not an appraisal for every car. Evoluzione prices remain private or undisclosed, with insufficient public comparables.

Prime documented GTO results in EUR, as sold. No currency conversion. Evoluzione excluded because public transaction prices are undisclosed.

The public record moves from $1.4025M for preserved chassis 52475 in 2014 to €9.1175M for the low-mileage, two-owner chassis 52471 in 2026. It is a sequence of different cars, not a model index.

| Record | Amount | What | Venue | Date |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Road record | €9'117'500 | GTO · 52471 · just over 1'500 km | Gooding Christie’s Paris | 29 Jan 2026 |
| Road record | €5'855'000 | GTO · 52727 · single ownership | RM Sotheby’s Paris | 2026 |

Valuation method and source rules: [HICONIUM standards](https://hiconium.dev/standards). Observed auction results across the wider market: [Market terminal](https://hiconium.dev/market).

### Model readouts

25 documented anchors. model v1 · seed ferrari-288-gto. Compound annual growth is modeled price CAGR; S&P 500 is a price index without dividends. Forecast quantiles are not investment advice.

| Window | This car* | S&P 500 | Gold |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1Y | +16.4% | +18.8% | +21.9% |
| 5Y | +15.1% | +11.4% | +17.6% |
| 10Y | +14.7% | +13.3% | +11.8% |

| Series | Deepest drawdown | Window |
| --- | --- | --- |
| This car* | -37.5% | Jan 2015 → May 2016 · recovered Feb 2017 |
| S&P 500 | -50.8% | Oct 2007 → Mar 2009 · recovered Mar 2013 |
| Gold | -39.3% | Sep 2011 → Dec 2015 · recovered Jul 2020 |

| Horizon | P10 | P50 | P90 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| +6M | €6'590'408 | €7'604'543 | €8'774'733 |
| +12M | €6'519'673 | €7'914'890 | €9'608'685 |
| +24M | €6'531'284 | €8'574'098 | €11'255'851 |

### Documented sales

25 recorded. Every public sale on this file, newest first. Amounts keep the recorded currency. Source links appear only when the catalog stores a public auction-lot URL.

| Date | Chassis / label | Class | House | Venue | Amount | Currency | Basis | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-01-29 | gooding · Rétromobile Paris Auction · incl. buyer's premium | Road | gooding | Rétromobile Paris Auction | €9'117'500 | EUR | incl. buyer's premium | [https://www.goodingco.com/lot/1984-ferrari-288-gto](https://www.goodingco.com/lot/1984-ferrari-288-gto) |
| 2026-01-28 | RM Sotheby's · Paris, France · incl. buyer's premium | Road | RM Sotheby's | Paris, France | €5'855'000 | EUR | incl. buyer's premium | [https://rmsothebys.com/auctions/pa26/lots/r0071-1985-ferrari-288-gto/](https://rmsothebys.com/auctions/pa26/lots/r0071-1985-ferrari-288-gto/) |
| 2026-01-18 | 2026 | Road | Mecum | Kissimmee 2026 - Highlights, Kissimmee, USA | $8'525'000 | USD | incl. buyer's premium | [https://www.mecum.com/lots/1158430/1985-ferrari-288-gto/](https://www.mecum.com/lots/1158430/1985-ferrari-288-gto/) |
| 2024-06-01 | RM Sotheby's · Dare to Dream Collection, Toronto, Canada · incl. buyer's premium | Road | RM Sotheby's | Dare to Dream Collection, Toronto, Canada | $3'882'500 | USD | incl. buyer's premium | [https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/dd24/dare-to-dream-collection/lots/r0035-1985-ferrari-288-gto/1446418](https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/dd24/dare-to-dream-collection/lots/r0035-1985-ferrari-288-gto/1446418) |
| 2023-08-18 | Broad Arrow Auctions · Radius at the Monterey Jet Center, Monterey, USA · incl. buyer's premium | Road | Broad Arrow Auctions | Radius at the Monterey Jet Center, Monterey, USA | $3'910'000 | USD | incl. buyer's premium | [https://www.broadarrowauctions.com/vehicles/jc23_034/1985-ferrari-288-gto](https://www.broadarrowauctions.com/vehicles/jc23_034/1985-ferrari-288-gto) |
| 2023-03-04 | RM Sotheby's · Amelia Island, USA · incl. buyer's premium | Road | RM Sotheby's | Amelia Island, USA | $3'965'000 | USD | incl. buyer's premium | [https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/am23/amelia-island/lots/r0076-1985-ferrari-288-gto/1330735](https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/am23/amelia-island/lots/r0076-1985-ferrari-288-gto/1330735) |
| 2022-08-20 | RM Sotheby's · Monterey, USA · incl. buyer's premium | Road | RM Sotheby's | Monterey, USA | $4'405'000 | USD | incl. buyer's premium | [https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/mo22/monterey/lots/r0139-1985-ferrari-288-gto/1272912](https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/mo22/monterey/lots/r0139-1985-ferrari-288-gto/1272912) |
| 2022-02-02 | RM Sotheby's · Paris, France · incl. buyer's premium | Road | RM Sotheby's | Paris, France | €3'464'375 | EUR | incl. buyer's premium | [https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/pa22/paris/lots/r0051-1985-ferrari-288-gto/1199757](https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/pa22/paris/lots/r0051-1985-ferrari-288-gto/1199757) |
| 2019-01-19 | 2019 | Road | Gooding Christie's | The Scottsdale Auctions 2019, Scottsdale, USA | $2'507'500 | USD | incl. buyer's premium | [https://glenmarch.com/auction-cars/show-backup-image/52892/results](https://glenmarch.com/auction-cars/show-backup-image/52892/results) |
| 2019-01-18 | RM Sotheby's · Arizona, Phoenix, USA · incl. buyer's premium | Road | RM Sotheby's | Arizona, Phoenix, USA | $3'360'000 | USD | incl. buyer's premium | [https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/az19/arizona/lots/r0061-1985-ferrari-288-gto/727696](https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/az19/arizona/lots/r0061-1985-ferrari-288-gto/727696) |
| 2017-12-02 | bonhams · London, New Bond Street · hammer | Road | bonhams | London, New Bond Street | £1'850'000 | GBP | hammer | [https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/24124/lot/117/delivered-new-in-the-uk-ferrari-classiche-certified1985-ferrari-288-gto-coupe-chassis-no-zffpa16b000056207/](https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/24124/lot/117/delivered-new-in-the-uk-ferrari-classiche-certified1985-ferrari-288-gto-coupe-chassis-no-zffpa16b000056207/) |
| 2017-09-09 | RM Sotheby's · Ferrari - Leggenda e Passione, Maranello, Italy · incl. buyer's premium | Road | RM Sotheby's | Ferrari - Leggenda e Passione, Maranello, Italy | €3'263'000 | EUR | incl. buyer's premium | [https://glenmarch.com/auction-cars/show-backup-image/32873/results](https://glenmarch.com/auction-cars/show-backup-image/32873/results) |
| 2016-08-21 | 2016 | Road | Gooding Christie's | Pebble Beach 2016, Pebble Beach, USA | $2'420'000 | USD | incl. buyer's premium | [https://glenmarch.com/auction-cars/show-backup-image/5081/results](https://glenmarch.com/auction-cars/show-backup-image/5081/results) |
| 2016-08-19 | bonhams · Carmel, Quail Lodge & Golf Club · hammer | Road | bonhams | Carmel, Quail Lodge & Golf Club | $1'920'000 | USD | hammer | [https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/23425/lot/77/1985-ferrari-288-gto/](https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/23425/lot/77/1985-ferrari-288-gto/) |
| 2016-05-13 | bonhams · Monte Carlo, Fairmont Hotel · hammer | Road | bonhams | Monte Carlo, Fairmont Hotel | €1'580'000 | EUR | hammer | [https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/23591/lot/110/by-order-of-the-executors-one-owner-from-new-ferrari-classiche-certified-1985-ferrari-288-gto-coupe-chassis-no-zffpa16b-0000-55171-engine-no-f114b-00128/](https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/23591/lot/110/by-order-of-the-executors-one-owner-from-new-ferrari-classiche-certified-1985-ferrari-288-gto-coupe-chassis-no-zffpa16b-0000-55171-engine-no-f114b-00128/) |
| 2016-03-12 | RM Sotheby's · Amelia Island, USA · incl. buyer's premium | Road | RM Sotheby's | Amelia Island, USA | $2'585'000 | USD | incl. buyer's premium | [https://glenmarch.com/auction-cars/show-backup-image/11886/results](https://glenmarch.com/auction-cars/show-backup-image/11886/results) |
| 2015-08-15 | RM Sotheby's · Monterey, USA · incl. buyer's premium | Road | RM Sotheby's | Monterey, USA | $2'420'000 | USD | incl. buyer's premium | [https://glenmarch.com/auction-cars/show-backup-image/11958](https://glenmarch.com/auction-cars/show-backup-image/11958) |
| 2015-08-14 | Bonhams · Quail Lodge Auction, Carmel, USA · incl. buyer's premium | Road | Bonhams | Quail Lodge Auction, Carmel, USA | $2'365'000 | USD | incl. buyer's premium | [https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/22792/lot/32/](https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/22792/lot/32/) |
| 2015-05-23 | RM Sotheby's · Villa Erba, Lake Como, Italy · incl. buyer's premium | Road | RM Sotheby's | Villa Erba, Lake Como, Italy | €1'904'000 | EUR | incl. buyer's premium | [https://glenmarch.com/auction-cars/show-backup-image/12410/results](https://glenmarch.com/auction-cars/show-backup-image/12410/results) |
| 2015-01-16 | RM Sotheby's · Arizona, Phoenix, USA · incl. buyer's premium | Road | RM Sotheby's | Arizona, Phoenix, USA | $2'750'000 | USD | incl. buyer's premium | [https://glenmarch.com/auction-cars/show-backup-image/12341](https://glenmarch.com/auction-cars/show-backup-image/12341) |
| 2014-11-30 | Bonhams · The Bond Street Sale, London, UK · incl. buyer's premium | Road | Bonhams | The Bond Street Sale, London, UK | £1'513'500 | GBP | incl. buyer's premium | [https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/21904/lot/24/one-private-owner-29000-kilometres-from-new1985-ferrari-288gto-berlinetta-chassis-no-zffpa16b000055633-engine-no-f114b146/](https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/21904/lot/24/one-private-owner-29000-kilometres-from-new1985-ferrari-288gto-berlinetta-chassis-no-zffpa16b000055633-engine-no-f114b146/) |
| 2014-01-18 | 2014 | Road | Gooding Christie's | The Scottsdale Auctions 2014, Scottsdale, USA | $1'402'500 | USD | incl. buyer's premium | [https://glenmarch.com/auction-cars/show-backup-image/56596/results](https://glenmarch.com/auction-cars/show-backup-image/56596/results) |
| 2013-08-18 | 2013 | Road | Gooding Christie's | Pebble Beach 2013, Pebble Beach, USA | $1'512'500 | USD | incl. buyer's premium | [https://glenmarch.com/auction-cars/show-backup-image/56711/results](https://glenmarch.com/auction-cars/show-backup-image/56711/results) |
| 2013-05-25 | RM Sotheby's · Villa Erba, Lake Como, Italy · incl. buyer's premium | Road | RM Sotheby's | Villa Erba, Lake Como, Italy | €963'200 | EUR | incl. buyer's premium | [https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/ve13/villa-erba/lots/r139-1985-ferrari-288-gto-by-scaglietti/293622](https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/ve13/villa-erba/lots/r139-1985-ferrari-288-gto-by-scaglietti/293622) |
| 2005-12-17 | bonhams · Geneva, Av. Pictet-de-Rochemont · hammer | Road | bonhams | Geneva, Av. Pictet-de-Rochemont | CHF 410'000 | CHF | hammer | [https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/13164/lot/206/the-property-of-mr-adrian-newey1984-ferrari-288-gto-berlinetta-chassis-no-52741/](https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/13164/lot/206/the-property-of-mr-adrian-newey1984-ferrari-288-gto-berlinetta-chassis-no-52741/) |

Public auction results and one separately labelled market benchmark. Asking prices and undisclosed private transactions are excluded.

## Ferrari revived the GTO badge for a championship proposition that disappeared before the car could enter it.

FISA’s Group B rules established a 200-road-car threshold. Ferrari answered with a longitudinal twin-turbo V8, a tubular chassis and light composite bodywork under a silhouette still visibly related to the 308 GTB.

The market did not wait for a result: Ferrari says all 200 planned cars were sold before the March 1984 Geneva unveiling, and the additional 72 also found buyers quickly. The car’s competition premise remained theoretical.

Evoluzione carried the unfinished programme into lighter construction, more rear aero, enlarged turbos and separate circuit and rally engine directions. Group B’s end for 1987 turned those tests toward the F40 instead of a start line.

| Highlight | Detail |
| --- | --- |
| Two hundred became 272 | Group B required 200 road cars. Ferrari says all 200 were sold before Geneva, then the additional 72 found buyers quickly. The defensible production count is 272. A secondary Group B registry reports 273, but no reviewed primary source establishes the extra unit as a production GTO. |
| Red, with one prototype exception | Ferrari and RM describe every production GTO as Rosso Corsa. No reviewed primary source documents a non-red production delivery. A secondary registry identifies pre-production chassis 47649 as the surviving development mule and records later yellow paint. It sits outside the 272 production cars and is not evidence of a factory colour option. |
| The race that never was | The intended Group B circuit series failed to attract a grid. A separate privateer tarmac-rally route also vanished when Group B ended for 1987. The GTO never started a race or rally. Evoluzione development tested lighter composites, carbon rear aero, enlarged turbos and separate circuit and rally engine directions; its record is a technical bridge to the F40, not a set of results. |

| Label | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Power | 400 hp |
| 0 to 100 | 4.9 s claimed |
| Built | 272 |
| Layout | Rear-mid · RWD |
| Competition starts | 0 |

## Technical specifications

### Powertrain

| Label | Value | Note |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Engine | 2'855 cc V8 | longitudinal, rear-mid |
| Charging | Twin IHI turbochargers |  |
| Output | 400 hp |  |
| Transmission | 5-speed manual transaxle |  |
| Drive | Rear-wheel drive |  |

### Performance

| Label | Value | Note |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 0 to 100 km/h | 4.9 s | Ferrari manufacturer claim |
| Top speed | 305 km/h | Ferrari claim; not presented as a universal first |
| Mass | 1'160 kg | RM uses kerb weight; a period feature says only weight |

### Chassis & body

| Label | Value | Note |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Chassis | Tubular steel |  |
| Suspension | Double wishbones | adjustable suspension described at the Geneva reveal |
| Main body | Composite, GRP and Kevlar |  |
| Opening panels | Aluminium | doors, bonnet and deck lid |
| Length | 4'290 mm |  |
| Width | 1'910 mm |  |
| Height | 1'120 mm |  |

### Production & identity

| Label | Value | Note |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Road production | 272 | Ferrari count; 273 remains a secondary report |
| Build convention | 1984–1987 | not continuous assembly through 1987 |
| Reveal | March 1984, Geneva |  |
| Production colour | Rosso Corsa | all 272 road production cars in reviewed primary sources |
| Evoluzione | 5–6 built | unresolved source conflict |

## Two GTOs, no race record

Ferrari built the GTO around Group B’s 200-car road threshold, then developed the lighter Evoluzione for competition routes that disappeared before either produced a start. The road count is 272; Evoluzione remained a development run.

| Variant | Years | Built | Rarity | Indicative value | Documented cars | File |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Ferrari 288 GTO | 1984–1987 convention | 272 | Works / very rare |  | 10 | [Open variant file](https://hiconium.dev/vehicles/ferrari/288-gto/gto) |
| GTO Evoluzione | 1985–1988 completion history | 6 | Works / very rare |  | 1 | [Open variant file](https://hiconium.dev/vehicles/ferrari/288-gto/evoluzione) |

Ferrari reports 272 road GTOs and six Evoluziones. RM Sotheby’s calls chassis 79888 the fourth of five remaining; Tom Hartley calls it the last of five. The bar follows Ferrari’s count of six; the surviving ledger does not reconcile the conflict.

### Ferrari 288 GTO

1984–1987 convention · Works / very rare · 272 · [Open as its own file](https://hiconium.dev/vehicles/ferrari/288-gto/gto)

The Group B road car: 272 built, all production examples Rosso Corsa, and no competition start to turn homologation intent into a race record.

Ferrari planned 200 cars for Group B homologation and says every one was sold before the March 1984 Geneva reveal; the additional 72 also found buyers quickly. The 1984–1987 date is the broad market convention, not a claim of continuous assembly through 1987.

- Five-speed manual transaxle · rear-wheel drive
- Tubular steel chassis with composite, GRP and Kevlar body panels
- 272 Rosso Corsa production cars; no reviewed primary source documents a non-red production delivery
- Record: €9.1175M for chassis 52471, Gooding Christie’s Paris 2026

| Label | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Engine | 2'855 cc twin-IHI-turbo V8 · longitudinal, rear-mid |
| Power | 400 hp |
| Weight | 1'160 kg · source mass convention varies |
| Top speed | 305 km/h · Ferrari claim |
| 0–100 km/h | 4.9 s · Ferrari claim |

### The Ferrari 288 GTO register

10 documented · public records only. Private, unpublished and member-only chassis files are omitted.

| Year | Chassis | Colour | Provenance | Last public sale | File |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1984 | 52471 | Rosso Corsa | Two owners from new, more than 30 years in one family and just over 1'500 km, with a Ferrari Classiche Red Book and Marcel Massini history report. The current model record. | €9'117'500 · Gooding Christie’s · 2026-01 | [Chassis file](https://hiconium.dev/vehicles/ferrari/288-gto?file=52471) |
| 1985 | 52475 | Rosso Corsa | Unrestored and preserved, with its history documented by Marcel Massini. Sold at Gooding Scottsdale in 2014. | $1'402'500 · Gooding · 2014 | [Chassis file](https://hiconium.dev/vehicles/ferrari/288-gto?file=52475) |
| 1985 | 55181 | Rosso Corsa | Rosso Corsa over Nero, delivered with air conditioning and power windows. RM Sotheby’s traced its multi-country early history and later preservation and service file. | $2'420'000 · RM Sotheby’s · 2015 | [Chassis file](https://hiconium.dev/vehicles/ferrari/288-gto?file=55181) |
| 1985 | 55223 | Rosso Corsa | The 130th car built, with original books and tool kit. Stolen nine days after delivery, recovered and returned to Maranello for inspection; RM records a three-owner history. | $2'310'000 · RM Sotheby’s · 2020 | [Chassis file](https://hiconium.dev/vehicles/ferrari/288-gto?file=55223) |
| 1985 | 56761 | Rosso Corsa | Under 2'900 miles, with factory air conditioning and power windows and a recent full service including belts at the time of sale. | $3'360'000 · RM Sotheby’s · 2019 | [Chassis file](https://hiconium.dev/vehicles/ferrari/288-gto?file=56761) |
| 1985 | 58335 | Rosso Corsa | Ferrari Classiche Red Book, 15'004 km, and the original optional air conditioning and electric windows. Offered with documented collector history. | $4'405'000 · RM Sotheby’s · 2022 | [Chassis file](https://hiconium.dev/vehicles/ferrari/288-gto?file=58335) |
| 1985 | 56773 | Rosso Corsa | Factory-correct, matching-numbers Ferrari Classiche certification, with warranty card, service books, tool kit and invoices. | $3'965'000 · RM Sotheby’s · 2023 | [Chassis file](https://hiconium.dev/vehicles/ferrari/288-gto?file=56773) |
| 1985 | 52727 | Rosso Corsa | Approximately the 18th built, with one dedicated ownership and 24'244 km. Its December 2025 Classiche Red Book confirms the matching engine and gearbox/transaxle. | €5'855'000 · RM Sotheby’s · 2026 | [Chassis file](https://hiconium.dev/vehicles/ferrari/288-gto?file=52727) |
| 1985 | 56339 | Rosso Corsa | Ferrari Classiche Red Book confirms the matching body, chassis, differential, engine and gearbox; 23'609 km with a continuous service file. Not sold in London in 2022. |  | [Chassis file](https://hiconium.dev/vehicles/ferrari/288-gto?file=56339) |
| 1985 | 54789 | Rosso Corsa | The 99th production car, Rosso Corsa over Nero, with 1'525 km, long collector storage and a later dealer mechanical overhaul. Offered in 2025; public final price not shown. |  | [Chassis file](https://hiconium.dev/vehicles/ferrari/288-gto?file=54789) |

### GTO Evoluzione

1985–1988 completion history · Works / very rare · 6 · [Open as its own file](https://hiconium.dev/vehicles/ferrari/288-gto/evoluzione)

The lighter Michelotto development car, built for competition routes that disappeared before it could start.

Pininfarina and Michelotto developed the fibreglass-and-Kevlar body, carbon-fibre rear wing, enlarged turbos and two engine directions. Ferrari counts six cars; RM Sotheby’s and Tom Hartley describe five, and the surviving chassis record does not reconcile them.

- High-output circuit and lower-output rally specifications
- ~650 hp applies to the high-output circuit specification, not every car
- Planned circuit and privateer tarmac-rally routes both disappeared
- Public price for chassis 79888 remains undisclosed

| Label | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Engine | Twin-turbo V8 · enlarged turbos · two development specifications |
| Power | ~650 hp · high-output spec |
| Weight | ~940 kg · Ferrari claim |

### The GTO Evoluzione register

1 documented · public records only. Private, unpublished and member-only chassis files are omitted.

| Year | Chassis | Colour | Provenance | Last public sale | File |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1988 | 79888 | Colour not specified | RM calls it the fourth of five remaining and records completion in 1988; Tom Hartley calls it the last of five, the high-spec 650-bhp car, restored by Michelotto. Public sale price remains undisclosed. |  | [Chassis file](https://hiconium.dev/vehicles/ferrari/288-gto?file=79888) |

## Numbers that moved

The GTO file is unusually clear about what remains unclear. Counts, dates, purpose and launch prices need their source context kept attached; flattening them produces a cleaner story and a less accurate car.

| Plate A | Plate B | Year | Story |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 272 | 273 | The road-car count | Ferrari and the reviewed auction catalogues support 272 road GTOs. A secondary Group B registry reports 273. The page uses 272 and keeps 273 as an unresolved secondary report, not a proven extra production car. |
| 1984–87 | Mar ’86 | The date convention | 1984–1987 is the broad market convention. Auction records document 1984 and 1985 completions, while the final customer delivery cited in the reviewed sources was March 1986. The convention is not presented as continuous assembly through 1987. |
| 6 | 5 | The Evoluzione ledger | Ferrari says six Evoluziones were made. RM calls chassis 79888 the fourth of five remaining; Tom Hartley calls it the last of five. No chassis-level reconciliation in the reviewed sources resolves the gap. |
| Circuit | Tarmac | Two intended routes | Retrospective reporting describes a planned Group B circuit championship that failed to attract a grid. Ferrari describes privateer Group B tarmac events. These were two intended competition routes, not interchangeable source errors; neither produced a GTO start. |
| 194M lire | $83.4k / ~£78k | Three launch-price contexts | 194 million Italian lire is a reported Italian contemporary list figure. $83,400 is a separately reported U.S.-equivalent list price. About £78,000 is one documented UK delivery after duties. They are territory-specific reports, not currency conversions of one global price. |
| GTO / Evo | F40 | The Enzo correction | The GTO programme ran under Enzo Ferrari’s direction, and Evoluzione can be described as the final Enzo-directed GT race car. The final Ferrari road car personally approved by Enzo was the F40, not the GTO. |

## Heritage

> Two Owners From New
>
>
>
> Gooding Christie’s · chassis 52471 · Paris 2026

### Two hundred before the curtain rose

The premise

Group B gave Ferrari a simple numerical premise: two hundred road-going cars for homologation. The GTO was built around that threshold and became Ferrari’s first limited-edition road car of the modern line.

It arrived at Geneva in March 1984 with no need to prove demand. Ferrari says every one of the planned two hundred had already sold; the additional seventy-two also found buyers quickly. The production baseline is 272, not the 273 reported by one secondary registry.

![Red Ferrari 288 GTO with raised pop-up headlights in front-three-quarter view at an outdoor radome facility.](https://hiconium.dev/images/cars/ferrari-288-gto/story/road-front-three-quarter-radome.jpg)

### A familiar outline, turned longitudinal

The engineering

The 308 GTB supplied the visual starting point, not the mechanical answer. Ferrari turned the engine longitudinally, stretched the proportions and installed a 2,855 cc twin-IHI-turbo V8 behind the cabin, driving the rear wheels through a five-speed manual transaxle.

A tubular steel chassis carried composite, GRP and Kevlar bodywork, with aluminium doors, bonnet and deck lid. Ferrari claimed 400 hp, 4.9 seconds to 100 km/h and 305 km/h; each remains a manufacturer figure here, not an independently timed universal record.

![GTO chassis 56773 engine bay with the twin-turbo V8 and intercoolers visible](https://hiconium.dev/images/cars/ferrari-288-gto/registry/56773-engine-bay.webp)

![Ferrari 288 GTO dashboard and gated five-speed shifter](https://hiconium.dev/images/cars/ferrari-288-gto/registry/53301-interior-dashboard.jpg)

### Two routes, neither a start

The race that never was

Ferrari and Porsche expected Group B cars to have a circuit championship. Other manufacturers did not commit, the series failed to form, and the GTO never started a race or rally. Published sources give no formal cancellation date for the proposed series.

Ferrari’s own Evoluzione account preserves a second route: privateer Group B tarmac events. After Henri Toivonen and Sergio Cresto died in a Delta S4 at the May 1986 Tour de Corse, FISA ended Group B for the 1987 season. The fallback disappeared with the circuit plan.

![GTO Evoluzione chassis 79888 at a marina, front three-quarter view](https://hiconium.dev/images/cars/ferrari-288-gto/registry/79888-front-dockside.webp)

![GTO Evoluzione chassis 79888, rear three-quarter view at sunset](https://hiconium.dev/images/cars/ferrari-288-gto/registry/79888-rear-sunset.webp)

### What the F40 inherited

The development bridge

Evoluzione was more than altered bodywork. Pininfarina and Michelotto evaluated lighter fibreglass and Kevlar construction, a carbon-fibre rear wing, enlarged turbos and two engine directions: a high-output circuit specification and a lower-output rally specification.

Ferrari presents around 650 hp and 940 kg; Tom Hartley’s documentation makes clear that 650 hp belongs to the high-output direction, not every Evoluzione. The count is equally unresolved — Ferrari says six, RM and Tom Hartley point to five. What survived without dispute was the development path into the F40.

That lineage also corrects a repeated attribution. The GTO and Evoluzione were directed under Enzo Ferrari; the F40, not the GTO, was his final personally approved Ferrari road car.

![GTO Evoluzione chassis 79888 high-output engine bay](https://hiconium.dev/images/cars/ferrari-288-gto/registry/79888-engine-bay.webp)

![Ferrari GTO Evoluzione in front-three-quarter view outside a brick building](https://hiconium.dev/images/cars/ferrari-288-gto/story/evoluzione-front-three-quarter.jpg)

### Milestones

| Date | Title | What happened | Standing |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1975 | The 308 foundation | Ferrari launches the 308 GTB, later identified by Ferrari as the foundation of the GTO and F40 line. |  |
| 1977 | The visual rehearsal | Pininfarina’s one-off 308 GTB4 previews the GTO’s wheel arches, lamps and rear spoiler under superseded Group 4 thinking. |  |
| 1982 | Group B sets the number | FISA’s new regulations establish the 200-road-car premise around which Ferrari develops the GTO. |  |
| March 1984 | Geneva reveal | The GTO appears with a twin-turbo 2.8-litre V8, composite construction and adjustable suspension; the planned 200 are already sold. |  |
| May 1986 | Group B’s safety end | After the Tour de Corse deaths of Toivonen and Cresto, FISA ends Group B for the 1987 season. The GTO’s tarmac-rally route closes. |  |
| 1987 | Development becomes lineage | Ferrari explicitly traces the F40 back to the lighter, more powerful GTO Evoluzione programme. |  |
| 29 January 2026 | The model record | Chassis 52471 sells for €9,117,500 in Paris, nearly €2M above the previous model record according to Gooding Christie’s. |  |

## Three hands, one unfinished programme

The GTO joined Ferrari’s turbo expertise, Pininfarina’s 308-derived line and Enzo Ferrari’s revived three-letter badge. Competition disappeared; the development chain did not.

### [Nicola Materazzi](https://hiconium.dev/people/nicola-materazzi)

Development lead · turbo authority

Ferrari hired the Italian turbocharging specialist in 1979. He led the GTO development team while also working on early-1980s Scuderia Formula 1 cars — the engineer who carried competition powertrain thinking into Ferrari’s road flagship.

### [Leonardo Fioravanti](https://hiconium.dev/people/leonardo-fioravanti)

Designer · Pininfarina · Pininfarina

After the Daytona and 308 GTB, Fioravanti shaped the GTO by making the familiar 308 outline longer and wider without hiding its origin.

### Enzo Ferrari

Patron of the GTO revival

Ferrari says its founder embraced the Group B GT challenge and followed the GTO’s development closely. The programme ran under his direction; the F40 remained his final personally approved Ferrari road car.

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