I knew i had a pic of it
lol, i am not sure though now as i have seen a 288 and i think it would look realy good to see 288GT0, 288GT0 EVO and F40 by each other
Italianauto.com asked me if I was interested in buying thier 288GTO evoluzione body molds back in '96 if I remember right. They did some conversions with 308s but they weren't easy. They asked $15,000 for the molds but I didn't buy them. In R&T august 5 '88 a Ferrari only issue came out where they said that only 3 288GTO evoluzione's were built, 50253GT, 70167GT and 70205GT. I didn't know the other ones mentioned by Bowdewijn. I guess R&T was wrong after all. There were no standard set of performance figures but one with 650bhp was said to do 0-100 in about 3.5 sec. and 0-124 in 10.0 sec. and top speed around 240mph. I know that Ferrari kept one of them so 5 owners are extremely lucky.
The latest issue of EVO has an article (short but informative) on the 288 GTO Evolution. It also has a nice comparo on 4 Ferrari supercars, the GTO, the F40, the F50, and the Enzo. Good issue to have.
It's a shame that Group B racing has disappeared entirely. Not only were cars like the 288 GTO Evoluzione built so extremely, also take a look at another "Evolution" by Ferrari's biggest corporate rival. 1986 Ford RS200 EVO 2100cc Inline-4 Turbocharged 650HP 0-60mph: 3.0s 0-100mph: 6.9s Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Garage Francorchamps - 50 Anni Di Passione by Keith Bluemel 16.02.02 Garage Francorchamps, Zaventem, Belgium, 17-27 January 2002 The relationship between Jacques Swaters and Ferrari started in 1952, when his Ecurie Francorchamps racing team took delivery of a 500 F2 model, his first Ferrari. You never forget your first car, and certainly not your first Ferrari, especially when it provides you with a Grand Prix victory! Thus the yellow 500 F2, chassis # 0208, holds a special place in his multitude of Ferrari memories. It was also the car in which he had one of his most memorable drives, and it wasn't on a circuit! He drove it from the factory in Maranello 1000 km overnight, without lights or any road equipment, never mind insurance, all the way back to Belgium, so that the team could compete in the GP des Frontiers. This initial purchase led to the factory requesting him to represent them at the 1953 Brussels Salon, as their commercial director, who was to have been in attendance, had to change his plans and they already had a car on the way for display. The relationship blossomed, and in 1954 Garage Francorchamps, which had been formed a year earlier, became official Ferrari importers for Benelux, and has remained so to this day, since 1998 as part of the Inchcape Group. Ecurie Francorchamps had been formed out of Ecurie Belgique in 1951, and went on to become one of the best known and most respected private Ferrari racing teams, entering races world-wide from the fifties through to the end of the seventies. The majority of races were in the sports racing and GT categories after the 500 F2 (which was upgraded to a 625 F1) was pensioned off, but they were loaned F1 cars by the factory on three occasions, for Belgian drivers to compete in their home Grand Prix. Thus 2002 marks the 50th anniversary of a continuous association with Ferrari, which was celebrated by an exhibition called "50 Anni di Passione", at the headquarters showroom in Zaventem. This ran in parallel with the Brussels Salon between 17-27 January, and the showroom was completely remodelled to give the impression of being on a motor show stand. Temporary timber walls were installed within the glass-faced showroom and the windows were covered with heavy black drapes to block out all natural light, to provide a completely closed environment, completed by a reception foyer which was erected around the main entrance. The effect was completed by carefully managed lighting, together with a display of twenty historically significant pictures around the walls. Apart from the full range of current Ferrari production cars, which were displayed in one area of the showroom, there was the 375 Plus, chassis # 0394AM, from Jacques Swaters' personal collection, a 360 Challenge car raced under the Garage Francorchamps banner during 2001, and an example of the FIA GT championship class winning 360 GT. Within the new car display area there was also an example of the recently announced Maserati Spyder, heralding a new liaison, as Garage Francorchamps were to become the Benelux concessionaire for Maserati from the beginning of February 2002. As a prelude to the public opening of the exhibition there was a press conference at lunchtime on 14th January, with a champagne reception held during the evening for invited guests. This proved very popular, with over 720 people attending during the course of the evening. The boutique situated at the far end of the showroom was constantly busy, mainly with people interested in the new range of "Fila for Ferrari" clothing and the new book about the 50 year association with Ferrari. This is called "Garage Francorchamps Ferrari 50 Anni di Passione", and is available in soft-back form at 24 Euros, or you can buy the same edition in a silver box with prints of the twenty pictures displayed in the exhibition for 60 Euros, the latter being a 500 copy limited edition. The cover of the book is also reproduced as an event poster. Further details can be obtained from [email protected] or visit their website at www.ferrari-belgium.be. The headquarters building is also home to FF Galleria, Jacques Swaters' private collection of Ferrari memorabilia, trophies, models, photographs, library, and extensive archives of Ferrari literature. This is probably the largest and broadest based collection of Ferrari material in the world, with literally reams of information on the computer database, ranging from race results through individual car histories to an inventory of the Galleria. A real Aladin's Cave for the Ferrari enthusiast, which at present is only accessible by invitation. from: www.ferrariownersclub.co.uk Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I don't think this is Blaton's F50 no.001 s/n 103097. It's s/n 99999 reg plate 17404. Blaton's F50 is wearing a thin yellow stripe and had the Belgian reg plate PLH543 and I think it's sold to France now. The Swaters' car is one of the several protos having 99999 as s/n. Jurgen
Hi Jurgen, you're right, it's certainly not the Blaton car, it doesn't have the yellow stripe, and the 'Blaton' car is in the USA. (for sale on ebay now, if you're interested, LOL) greetings, vincent
Hi Vincent, well, sure I'm interested....Unfortunately the extra National lottery thing didn't turn out right for me yesterday. Seems Mr Blaton is selling of his collection. Jurgen
Is anyone interested in the body kit to convert a 308/328 to a 288 Evoluzione look-alike, sort of? Sort of because the Evoluzione had a longitudinal engine, not tranverse, so the conversion will be a few inches short. Conversion is similar although more difficult than the GTO conversions currently on the market. Please let me know. Thanks [email protected]
That looks like the building of the former "Garaga Francorchamps" in Brussels, it now serves as a museum of "The Jacques Swaters Foundation" http://www.foundation.ecuriefrancorchamps.com/nl/index_nl.htm regards Jurgen
