A 1985 Ferrari 288GTO that once graced the cover of Classic & Sports Car has been stolen on a test drive then recovered by police a day later.
The ultra-rare Prancing Horse, which featured in the June 2003 issue of the magazine in a duel with the Porsche 959, had been offered for sale by a dealer in Düsseldorf, Germany, with a price tag of €2.35m (£2.05m).
But the deal turned sour when the suspect sped off in the 400bhp machine, which was once owned by ex-Formula One ace Eddie Irvine.
The 288GTO is a rare beast even among Ferrari supercars. Built to the tune of just 272 examples, it was designed specifically to race in Group B, but had to settle for being ‘just’ a road car after the demise of that category.
But what a road car it was: this Pininfarina-penned machine was arguably the best-looking of Maranello’s supercars and could reach 60mph from standing in 4.9 seconds and continue all the way to 189mph.
Its twin-turbo V8 provided the foundations for the F40, which followed just three years later and which owes more than a debt of gratitude to its predecessor.
