ferrari 288 GTO

Of the many great Ferraris built, the 250 GTO is what many think is the greatest. Exactly 22 years after the first GTO was launched in 1962, Ferrari announced a new model with the legendary GTO badge, the 288 GTO.

The engine was good for 400bhp. Top speed is 190 mph (305 kph). Lightweight materials were used throughout the car. The entire body was made of kevlar, fiberglass and aluminum. But because of safety reasons, the doors were made of steel. The 288’s weight was low at 2550 lbs (1156 kg). 60mph (100 kph) comes in 5 seconds.

Ferrari built the 288 for one reason only; to homologate it for racing. The “O” in GTO is taken from the Italian word “Omologato”, homologation in English. Gran Touring racing was the idea for the 250, Ferrari had other plans for the 288. The very popular Group B rally class would be where the 288 would race. This meant Ferrari had to build a minimum of 200 road going GTOs to get it homologated. Production started right after its 1984 Geneva launch. A total of 273 GTOs were built.

An Evoluzione version with very revised bodywork was first shown in 1986. This was going to be Ferrari’s entrant for the Group B events. Under the aerodynamic body was a 600+ hp version of the turbocharged V8. Five cars were built but none of them were ever entered in a rally. After a number of terrible accidents, Group B was cancelled for 1987 effectively cutting the lives of many great racing cars short, including the 288 GTO’s.

Today the 288 GTO remains as one of the most sought after ’modern’ Ferraris. With only 273 288 GTOs produced, it has the smallest production figure of any road going Ferrari built in the last 30 years.