1982 Ferrari 308 GTS QV “Prototipo”

This is the first 308 to have a four-valve engine installed, a prototype built by the factory in 1981. Emmanuel Joffret described the car and its dark and mysterious life in the magazine Auto Hebdo, which specializes in Ferraris. Supposedly, this prototype was stolen from the factory in Maranello during 1981. A year after the “owner,” a gangster from Marseille, was killed, the car was auctioned and became the property of a Corsican car dealer, who later sold it. During a trip to Belgium, the new owner left the car for service at a Ferrari dealership. Confused by some of the unique parts on the car, they contacted the factory. When they were told that the engine number was that of the car stolen three years previously, they immediately seized the car. The owner was offered a new 308 QV GTS by the factory in exchange for his “prototipo,” which he refused. After one and a half years of legal wrangling it remained the property of the...