The Riyadh Car Show Auction 2019 - 22nd November 2019

The Riyadh Car Show Auction 2019 64 Friday 22nd November 2019 Chassis Number: ZFFPA16b000055233 A pristine example of the first of the marque’s sensational line of supercars. • First and rarest of the modern Ferrari Supercars that followed (F40, F50, Enzo and LaFerrari) • Race-bred, 400bhp, 2.8-litre mid-mounted, twin IHI turbocharged, V8 with Weber-Marelli fuel injection • 55233 is the 135th GTO built and was delivered new to Austria • One of the famous ‘White Collection’ of seven Ferraris belonging to Chris Evans, put together by John Collins of Talacrest • Ground-up restoration costing in excess of £150,000 in 2009 • Now finished in Rosso and Nero with only 31,000km from new The original, immortal 250 GTO had been developed for the FIA GT Championship, duly taking the manufacturer’s title for Ferrari in 1962, 1963 and 1964; clearly, any revival of the GTO name could only be permitted for a very special car indeed. Enter the 288 GTO. Like its illustrious forebear, the 288 GTO (the initials stand for Gran Turismo Omologato) was conceived as a limited-edition model, just 200 units being planned to meet the then-existing Group B homologation requirements for international sports car racing. Styled by Pininfarina’s Leonardo Fioravanti, creator of the awe-inspiring Ferrari 365GTB/4 Daytona, the 288 GTO was based on the 308 GTB (another Fioravanti creation) and made its public debut at the Geneva Salon in February 1984. Fioravanti later recalled Enzo Ferrari’s original design brief, ‘There was no specific instruction, just to produce a car based on the 308 GTB that could be used for racing’. Although superficially similar to the contemporary 308 GTB Quattrovalvole, the 288 GTO was radically different beneath the skin, mounting its V8 engine longitudinally rather than transversely, a change that necessitated a new chassis with a wheelbase extended from 234cm to 245.1cm. This new frame was constructed of steel tubes in the traditional manner while incorporating the latest in Formula 1-derived composite technology in the form of a Kevlar and Nomex bulkhead between the driver and engine. The alteration in engine layout had been made to accommodate twin IHI turbochargers and their associated Behr inter-coolers and plumbing; the adoption of forced induction requiring that the quad-cam, 32-valve V8 be downsized from 2,927cc to 2,855cc to comply with the regulations. Ferrari’s considerable experience gained from turbo-charging its Formula 1 engine was deployed in adapting the 308 unit, the latter in highly modified 288 GTO form producing 400bhp at 7,000rpm and a mighty 366lb-ft of torque at 1985 Ferrari 288 GTO LOT 129 More Images Lot 129 Bid On Lot 129