Ferrari 288 GTO

Contrary to popular belief, the Ferrari GTO was not born to participate in the new 1982 Group B Circuit Race series; Enzo Ferrari did not have total control of the Road Car division, which was overseen at the time by General Director Eugenio Alzati and FIAT MD (CEO) Vittorio Ghidella. In 1983, Mr Ferrari saw, based on conversations with close friends and clients, that road vehicle sales were declining. This was thought to be down to increased competition from other manufactures and what Mr Ferrari called the "excessive gentrification" of the Ferrari model portfolio.

The GTO had bulging fender flares, bigger front/rear spoilers, huge exterior mirrors, and four driving lights on the outer edges of the grille. Slanted air vents were retained from the original 250 GTO and installed in the GTO's rear fenders to cool the brakes, as was the design of the rear wing, which was derived from the original 250 GTO wing. The body panels on the GTO were likewise broader than those on the 308 because they had to cover significantly bigger Goodyear tyres placed on race wheels.

The GTO was derived from the rear mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive, 2.9 L V8 308 GTB. The "288" alludes to the GTO's 2.8 litres DOHC 4 valves per cylinder V8 engine, which was de-bored by 1 mm (0.04 in) and had twin turbochargers, Behr air-to-air intercoolers, Weber-Marelli fuel injection, and a compression ratio of 7.6:1. The 2.85-litre engine capacity was determined by the FIA's rule that the capacity of a Turbocharged engine be increased by 1.4. This gave the GTO an equivalent engine size of 3,997 cc, narrowly under the Group B restriction of 4.0 litres.

Original Ferrari 288 GTO Tyres