Formula 1 technology of the time provided the blueprint for the transformation: a Kevlar and Nomex bulkhead between the driver and engine, now mounted longitudinally rather than transversely; Kevlar and carbon-fibre in the body; revised aerodynamics with the model’s signature spoilers and flared guards; and twin IHI turbos for the 2,855cc quad cam V8, boosting power to 400bhp. It wasn’t the first turbocharged Ferrari (there was the Italy-only 208 GTB before it) but it was certainly the greatest, and an hors d’oeuvre for the F40 a few years later.
The 288 GTO in the Bonhams Bond Street Sale in London on 2 December is one of the 20 cars that were supplied new to the UK. The left-drive car, Rosso Corsa and with the optional electric windows and air-conditioning, has had five owners – none of them F1 drivers as far as we know – and covered 14,000 miles. It is matching numbers and Ferrari Classiche certified.
The world gasped in 1984 when the 288 GTO first came out, with its astonishing price tag of £73,500, a lot more even than a Rolls of the day. Will there be equal gasps in London when the hammer falls on December 2nd?