BEST-MODEL - FERRARI - 308 GTB4 LM TEST FIORANO 1976 NIKI LAUDA

In the history of the 308 there is a version that at the end of 1976 took part in tests at Fiorano with Niki Lauda, official driver of the team in F1, it is not clear for what precise purpose. This car appears on the cover of an Autosprint, without further details, and adds something Antoine Prunet in his classic volume dedicated to Ferrari Gran Turismo. The precise characteristics of this particular 308 are not known, just as the exact function of the car is not known: the name "308 GTB / 4" that appears on the sides would suggest a planned homologation in Group 4 (Gran Turismo Competizione), while Autosprint, with a certain imagination, had defined it "Silhouette", but this 308 of Group 5 had very little. Prunet reports that after the tests the car was sold in Belgium with the V8 engine boosted to 300 horsepower. It's complicated to say what exactly this 308 was intended for: to test a series of engines? To evaluate a track camplaign, which then happened - albeit in an unofficial form - with the 512BB-LM? Moreover, at that time, the competition versions of the 365 GT4 / BB were still around. It is perhaps superfluous to recall that in the following years the 308 experienced a certain racing career on track, with the Group 5 twin-turbo versions developed by Carlo Facetti and Martino Finotto.