This is an original Giocattolo Group B, it’s an Australian supercar from the late-1980s with a mid-mounted Holden V8 and it was faster from 0-62 mph than both the Porsche 930 and the Ferrari Testarossa.
📌 The Core Development
Just 15 examples of the Group B would be built, around 12-13 are believed to have survived, and they’re among the most collectible Australian-built cars ever made – the problem for most enthusiasts is finding one for sale.
Between 1986 and 1989, a small company called Giocattolo Motori of Caloundra, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, built 15 supercars based on brand new Alfa Romeo Sprints. The production cars had a Holden V8 where the rear seats had been, Kevlar fenders, and a small bottle of Bundaberg Rum with two shot glasses in the toolkit. Probably because after your first drive, you might need a couple of stiff drinks. The car’s model name was “Group B” and Giocattolo, the company name, is Italian for “toy.”
🔍 Background & Sector Context
This is an original Giocattolo Group B, it’s an Australian supercar from the late-1980s with a mid-mounted Holden V8 and it was faster from 0-62 mph than both the Porsche 930 and the Ferrari Testarossa.
At the Paris Motor Show in October of 1982, Alfa Romeo showed the Alfasud Sprint 6C, a rally prototype for the new Group B category in global rally. It had a 2.5 liter V6 behind the front seats, sending power to the rear wheels via a ZF 5-speed gearbox of the type used in the Lancia 037 . Alfa couldn’t afford to build it as a homologation/production model, and sadly, the project was cancelled in 1983.
📊 Industry & Real-World Impact
On the other side of the world in Australia, a man named Paul Halstead had made his money in IT recruitment and then opened The Toy Shop, a Sydney dealership selling De Tomasos , Ferraris , Lamborghinis , and Porsches . For a time he also exported Australian-built 351 cubic inch (5.8 liter) Ford Cleveland V8s to Italy for De Tomaso.
Benchmark Telemetry & EV Fuel Savings
Put top supercars and EVs to the test in The Pit Stop Lab — launch head-to-head 1/4-mile drag strip battles & compute EPA electric fuel cost savings.
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🔮 Strategic Outlook & What Lies Ahead
Barry Lock was a Queensland-based former McLaren Formula 1 engineer who built Kaditcha racing cars, and the two men knew each other well as Lock had built Halstead’s Pantera race car.
Halstead set out to make a road-going version of the cancelled 6C. He started from a production Alfa Romeo Sprint because of regulations – as Lock later explained, every door handle and lock on an all-new car would have needed Australian Design Rules (ADR) approval, and the Sprint already had all those boxes ticked.
