www.QV500.com - Ferrari 288 GTO Part 1: 288 GTO
 

GTO. The three letters that adorn the worlds most desirable Ferrari. 1962's 250 was so incredibly beautiful and crushingly effective that any subsequent Ferrari inheriting this tag would have an awful lot to live up to. Second generation GTO's were born during the early 1980’s when many leading motor manufacturers thought FISA’s Group B regulations would evolve into the definitive platform for showcasing their most technologically advanced machinery. In order to qualify for Group B, FISA stipulated that 200 identical road cars had to be produced and sold to the public for homologation to be granted.
   
However, Group B was destined to become a stillborn series and much to the disappointment of race fans the world over, Ferrari's 288 and the Porsche 959 never took to the track in anger. Nevertheless, like Porsche, Ferrari decided to go ahead with a limited production run for their super high performance Group B challengers. Starting with a separate tubular steel chassis, Ferrari welded on supplementary frames for the suspension and steering, as was normal practice at the time. A number of new features were also introduced such as a glassfibre floor pan and the Kevlar-covered aluminium honeycomb cockpit and engine bulkhead. There was also a removable central panel made from Kevlar and Nomex composite that allowed access to the front parts of the engine from inside the cockpit. Carbon fibre inserts were used extensively for additional stiffening. The suspension was largely similar to the 308 but GTO's did use custom Speedline split-rim wheels that were significantly wider and larger than standard 308 items. Despite all the external similarities between the GTO and 308, the chassis of this Group B homologation special was actually 110mm longer in the wheelbase to accommodate a longitudinally mounted engine, overall length having come out 5mm shorter than before. Indeed, the 288 was the first mid-engined Ferrari street car to be fitted with a longitudinally mounted engine, this having been an all-alloy Tipo F114B 90° V8 with twin overhead camshafts and dry-sump lubrication.
 
Capacity was 2855cc thanks to a bore and stroke of 80mm x 71mm, a phenomenal 400bhp being developed at 7000rpm. Compression was set at 7.6:1, the twin IHI turbochargers at 0.8 bar while Behr intercoolers cooled the charge air. Weber-Marelli IAW electronic fuel injection and ignition was derived from experience gained in Grand Prix racing. Performance figures were extremely impressive with zero to sixty coming up in just 4.8 seconds and a top speed of 189mph possible. These astounding figures meant Ferrari's 288 GTO arrived as the fastest production car in the world on it's 1984 launch.
   

Aesthetically, GTO's were very similar to the 308 GTB, Pininfarina having suggested the shape of things to come seven years earlier with 1977's Turin Salon 308 GTB4. This car incorporated a host of aerodynamic aids, flared fenders, additional cooling vents and four supplementary driving lights below the front bumper. For all it's visual similarity, however, the 288 was a fundamental departure. Produced in close collaboration with Pininfarina, the body used an array of exotic lightweight materials such as Kevlar-Nomex composite for the front hood and Nomex-GRP composite for the nose, roof, buttress and engine cover. Glassfibre was used for the doors, wings, sills and front and rear valances whilst the louvres on the front lid were aluminium. As a nod to its predecessor, three vertical lourves reminiscent of the Bizzarrini-designed 250 GTO were carved into the rear wings while that flip up rear spoiler flared the tail quite magnificently. GTO's were only available in Rosso Corsa and left hand drive. Meanwhile, the interior featured a suede covered anti-glare dash, Veglia instruments, a three-spoked leather rimmed Momo steering wheel and seats of similar design to the Daytona. Restrained and stylish but never overly luxurious, additional comforts could be specified by way of a luxury package that included air-conditioning, electric windows and a stereo cassette player. Full leather trim could also be selected (to replace the standard leather with orange cloth inserts) along with rear fog lights.

 
Unveiled at the Geneva Salon in March 1984 after a lengthy development period that had seen the worlds motoring press speculating avidly as to exactly what was beneath Ferrari's heavily disguised prototype, the GTO was an overnight sensation. Floods of collectors were gagging to - at the very least - place a deposit for this the newest, most desirable car in the world. Ferrari had originally planned to produce just the mandatory 200 units for homologation, however, demand was so strong that 272 examples were eventually completed by the time production was discontinued in early 1986.