Bring a Trailer started once upon a time as a website where some of the cars you might buy at auction would literally require a trailer to be brought home with. Bring a Trailer's 250,000th auction, however, is the opposite - a 1985 Ferrari 288 GTO. It's about as nice as cars get, and is also the first ever GTO listed on the site in its twelve-year history."What started as a passion project, highlighting interesting cars for sale all over the world, has grown into a cornerstone of online car culture. We've seen the site cross over 1,200 auctions listed each week during peak times," said Randy Nonnenberg, CEO and founder of Bring a Trailer. "The 288 GTO represents an exciting evolution in Ferrari's history and reflects a similar moment for BaT, helping the site gearheads love to grow with even more momentum."Bring a TrailerView the 3 images of this gallery on the original articleAdvertisementAdvertisementThis 288 is one of the first 200 initial examples needed to achieve homologation for FIA Group B competition. Homologation is a complex-sounding word for an easy concept: in order for manufacturers to race in what the racing powers that be call a "production-based series," they have to build not just the race cars, but identical ones to sell to customers. Ferrari did the same, having built racing 288s and ones for street use - this one is the latter.288 GTOs used composite and Kevlar bodywork to cut weight, while a mid-mounted 2.9-liter V8 was fitted with two turbochargers to pump out 395 horsepower. Given the feathery weight figure provided by the lightweight chassis and bodywork, it's not hard to see how that number was an impressive one back in the '80s.Bring a TrailerUnfortunately, though Ferrari got its homologation in June of 1985, the death of the Group B rally series in 1986 meant that any competition for Ferrari's Evoluzione variant of the 288 GTO was now dead in the water. That car, and this engine, would go on to become the famed Ferrari F40.This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 27, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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