Own a piece of Ferrari Lore.
Come see this 288 GTO on display at the Cavallino Classic
Guisseppi Risi’s personal 288 GTO. The 288 GTO needs no introduction, it was the second Ferrari to wear the legendary GTO Moniker, GTO standing for, “Gran Turismo Omologato”. In the 1980’s, Enzo Ferrari was disappointed with the Ferrari road cars. Nothing in the lineup embodied a true performance car. Fiat was not executing Enzo’s vision for the marque. Enzo wanted to make a bold statement, and at the time, Group B represented the perfect arena. To enter Group B, manufacturers had to homologate a minimum number of road going examples for public purchase.
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Enzo enlisted the finest engineering talent from the world of Group B racing to create the 288 GTO. Starting with Nicola Materazzi.
Materazzi began his career at Lancia, working on projects like the legendary Lancia Stratos before joining Ferrari’s racing division in 1979 as the head of the design-engineering office. He became the driving force behind Ferrari’s adoption of turbo engines in both Formula 1 and road cars. After Ferrari, he served as technical director on the Bugatti EB110 and was widely regarded as one of Italy’s most influential specialists in forced‑induction performance engines.
Harvey Postlethwaite was the other key figure in the 288 GTO’s engineering. His primary contribution was bringing Formula 1 composite technology into the cars structure and bodywork. He helped develop a way to apply advanced composites such as Kevlar and Kevlar‑fiberglass honeycomb for key components like the bulkhead and front bonnet, combining exceptional strength with minimal mass. Postlethwaite also championed the use of composite panels—Kevlar, carbon fiber, and fiberglass—over the tubular steel spaceframe, effectively "clothing" the high-tensile steel skeleton in race-derived lightweight materials rather than traditional all-steel bodywork.
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The heart of the 288 GTO was a de-bored version of the 308’s Tipo F160-V8. Reduced from 2.9 liters to 2.8 liters, it was designated the F114B. The engine featured dual overhead camshafts, four valves per cylinder, mated with lightweight connecting rods and nickisel coated liners cylinder liners to reduce friction. Ferrari turned to Japanese turbo specialist IHI; the same company supplying many Group B rally cars.
The result was 400 horsepower, 0-60 in 5-seconds, 0-125 in 15 seconds and a top speed of 190mph making it the fastest road going Ferrari of its era.
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Six 288 GTO Evolutione prototypes were built for Group B competition but never saw a single race. The FIA cancelled Group B after a series of fatal accidents, the final straw being in 1986 at the Tour de Corse that killed Henri Toivonen and co‑driver Sergio Cresto in a Lancia Delta S4. With competitors and spectators dying at an alarming rate, the series was shuttered.
However, with the Group B door closed, another opened, the 288 GTO became the first in Ferrar’s lineage of “Halo” cars—ultra limited, flagship supercars. The 288 GTO paved the way for one of the most iconic supercars off all time, the F40.
Of all the Ferrari Halo Cars, the 288 GTO was the least produced with only 272 built worldwide. The 288 was never officially sold in the U.S. market as Ferrari was unwilling to sacrifice cars for crash testing or navigate expensive EPA certification. Some U.S. clients took delivery at the factory in Europe, importing them through “Grey Market” channels
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This particular 288 GTO was delivered to, Giuseppi Risi of Houston, TX. Guiseppi Risi is a legend in Ferrari circles and in endurance racing; he can be looked at as a modern day Luigi Chinetti. Italian born, Risi owned Ferrari of Houston and led the American Ferrari Factory efforts through Risi Competizione. He raced extensively in Europe before establishing one of the most important U.S. Ferrari dealerships.
Risi Competizione campaigned Ferrari’s most significant prototype’s and GT cars the 333SP, the 360 GT, MC12 GT1, F430 GT, 458 GT, 488 GT and the current 296 GT3.
Risi Competizione’s biggest achivements:
- Three class victories at the legendary 24 Hours of LeMans
- Three class wins at the 24 Hours of Sebring
- Multiple Petit LeMans victories
- 2024 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona
Giuseppi Risi acquired this 288 GTO directly from Ferrari for a whopping price of $85,000. and it remained in his collection until 2015. This car was optioned with factory air conditioning, power windows and full black leather Daytona Seats. While in Risi’s care this 288 was sent back to the factory where a full engine rebuild was commissioned and a cosmetic restoration was performed. It was also the first 288 GTO ever to be Classiche Certified at the factory in Maranello. Something that can only be said about one such example.
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After leaving Risi’s collection, the car was acquired by Prince Faisal of the Saudi Royal Family, who maintained it in his Los Angeles based collection. From here it passed to a private Texas collector before being acquired by marque specialists GT Motor Cars.
This 288 GTO boasts fastidious service history and distinguished provenance deeply intertwined with Ferrari’s North American legacy through Guiseppi Risi. Examples with this level of documentation, condition, and historical significance rarely reach the open market, especially in the U.S. With the current duty and tariff constraints, importing 288 GTO’s has become extremely expensive and made these cars even harder to acquire. This opportunity represents a rare opportunity for the serious collector to acquire a genuine piece of Ferrari history; one of Maranello’s most coveted road cars and the first in the cornerstone of the “Big Six” Halo car lineage.
