The EuroBrun ER188 was a Formula One car designed and raced by the EuroBrun team during the 1988 Formula One season. Mario Tolentino designed the car, which was powered by a normally aspirated Cosworth DFZ engine. The team produced three ER188 chassis.

EuroBrun entered two cars for the 1988 season: one for 1987 Formula 3000 champion Stefano Modena, and the other for long-time Brun sports car stalwart, 33-year-old F1 rookie Oscar Larrauri from Argentina.

Despite a solid start to the season, EuroBrun struggled as funding dried up. Internal tension arose in May 1988 when Brun attempted to replace Larrauri with German driver Christian Danner. However, Danner proved too tall for the ER188's monocoque. With no funds to modify the car, the team retained Larrauri in the second seat for the remainder of the season.

For the 1988 Formula 1 season, 18 teams and 36 drivers were entered. As only the top 30 could advance to qualifying—and of those, only the top 26 could start the Grand Prix—pre-qualifying was introduced.

In the first eight events, Larrauri successfully qualified for six races, while Modena demonstrated strong pace and would have qualified for all eight if not for two disqualifications: one for missing a weight check during practice at Monaco, and the other for exceeding the rear wing height limit in Mexico. Despite facing challenges such as engine failures, clutch and gearbox issues, and even a flat battery, the team persevered. Modena’s 11th place finish at the Hungarian Grand Prix stood out as the car’s best result.

For the 1989 season, the ER188 received upgrades to the ER188B specification, now powered by a Judd CV V8 engine and fitted with Pirelli tires. The team entered a single car for promising rookie Gregor Foitek.

Chassis ER188-01 is race-ready, fully restored, comes with complete history, and is available for sale. Price upon request. Inquire here.

Article and Photography by Officina Caira.