The Book of the Ferrari 288 GTO
By Joe Sackey
Veloce Publishing Ltd. U.K. 2013
Hardbound, 272 pages, 325 color and B&W photos
ISBN 978-1 845842-73-4
$70.95 plus shipping
www.veloce.co.u.k.
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Review by Pete Vack
Photos courtesy of the author and Publisher except where noted
Of all the V8 Ferrari variants, perhaps the most difficult to define is the 288GTO. It is neither a full-blown Supercar like the F40, the car which replaced it, or an easy to drive and maintain 308GTB, the car from which it derived a good bit of its dna.
In fact, the 288 GTO, performance aside, is perhaps too much like the bread and butter 308GTB; set up a 308GTB with similar wheels and a Ferrari Scuderia emblem on the fender and many Ferrari enthusiasts will take the pedestrian 308 for the GTO, at least at first glance. And that does not a supercar make. On the track, of course, there is no comparison, but….
288 GTO and the 512 cruise together.
On the other hand, the super Ferraris that followed the 288 GTO were off the map, off the charts. The F40, F50, Enzo were true supercars but suited more to the track than the boulevard. The 288 GTO was a bit more like its namesake; it could be driven on a daily basis and the performance was manageable and enjoyable. Streetable, as they say, yet at with the ability to do 0-60 in 4.8 seconds and a 189 mph top speed, fast enough to claim supercar status.
Noteworthy was the use of Kevlar in the frame, the aluminum body and the engine, which was based on the Lancia LC2 engine and had little in common with the standard 308 engine. The most obvious difference was the placement of the engine fore and aft, predating the 348 series yet to come and the use of two turbchargers, way upping the ante from the 208GTB Turbo.
Group of 288 GTOs in Connecticut coldly waiting for DOT/EPA approval in 1985.