Ferrari 288 GTO Sports Fast Cars

Ferrari 288 GTO
288 GTO.  Photo by Michael Meredith

It may look similar to the 308/328 cars, but the 288 GTO was a completely different proposition. Introduced in 1984 the 288 GTO was limited to just 273 examples, it remaining a highly coveted car among Ferrari collectors today. The 400bhp from its longitudinally mounted 2.8-litre, four cam, four valve per cylinder, V8 engine is achieved by the adoption of two turbochargers and intercoolers these allowing the 288 GTO to sprint to 62mph in 4.8 seconds and onto a maximum speed of 188mph. Its backbone construction was of tubular steel, but fibreglass and Kevlar were also used to keep weight as low as possible. Its beautiful, muscular looks belie its vicious performance, as does its interior, which, unlike its F40 descendant features proper door pulls, handles and carpets. In every way the 288 GTO lives up the famous GTO badge that has always represented Ferrari’s most extreme sporting cars, though such is the pace of progress a current F430 will outperform it in every area.

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