Italy, the country of engines and beauty, fine mechanics and precious fabrics, will be at the starting line of the East African Safari Classic Rally. Not with a laboratory prototype, but with a Ferrari 308, a berlinetta with a few springs under its belt and more than a few memories under its skin.

It will be brought to Kenya by Eugenio Amos, former rally driver and founder of a club that bears his name. He is someone who is not afraid of dust, quite the contrary. He has already won this race, in 2023, with a Porsche 911. This time, he is raising the stakes: a Ferrari, on 3,000 kilometers of dirt tracks, rocks, and sand. “There are easier ways to race, but none as exciting as taking a Ferrari to the toughest rally on the planet,” he said. There is nothing more to add, except that we have to believe him.

The 308, of course, was not born to do the Safari. In the 1970s and 1980s, they tried with a few Group 4 versions, prepared by Michelotto. Nice stuff, but times change, and with the arrival of all-wheel drive, two-wheel drive cars were left behind.

That's why Amos has worked on the car with care and respect. The suspension has been completely rebuilt, the underbody has been reinforced as you would with a fine barrel, and Pirelli Scorpion tires have been fitted: Italian too, not out of patriotism, but because you need tires that can bite into the red earth without biting your hands.

Then there is the outfit. Because in certain races, the eye also wants its share. The livery bears the signature of SEASE, the brand of the Loro Piana brothers. Dark green, orange touches, sand-colored inserts. It is reminiscent of Solaro, an English fabric loved by Italians for clothes that stand on their own. Elegance and substance, as it should always be.

The result is a rare combination. The Ferrari on African tracks is a fascinating short circuit, an elegant heresy. It's not just speed here. It's challenge, effort, ingenuity. It's passion that knows how to get its hands dirty without losing the taste for a good tailor-made cut.

After all, this 308 is a bridge. Between yesterday and tomorrow, between Maranello and Kenya, between myth and risk. And following it, through the dust and eucalyptus trees, will be a privilege. Because certain stories are not written at a desk. They must be pursued. Perhaps with a little mud on your clothes.