Guide: Ferrari 288 GTO
Background
Following major investment by Fiat in 1969, Ferrari's Sports car racing programme was gradually scaled down.
Wanting to avoid inter-brand competition and unnecessary expense, Fiat ultimately decided Formula 1 should be left to Ferrari while top flight Sports car racing would be reserved for their Lancia brand.
GT racing was still open to Ferrari, but during the Group 4 and 5 era between 1976 and 1982, regulations had not favoured the Maranello firm; unfortunately, their normally-aspirated road car engines didn't stand a chance against turbocharged Porsches with seemingly infinite tuning potential.
As a result, the only officially sanctioned batch of GT racing Ferraris built after the 365 GTB/4C had been the short run of BB LMs that were primarily designed for use at Le Mans. These cars were sometimes given their own special class by the organisers who were desperate to have Ferraris on the grid.
For 1982, a new regularity framework for motor sport was introduced.
Group 6 was replaced by Group C. This category was for out-and-out prototypes. It had no minimum production requirement although a fuel efficiency limit of 600-litres per 1000 kilometres was introduced.
Group B was designed to replace both the existing Group 4 and Group 5 categories. It had a minimum production requirement of 200 cars over a twelve month period. Previously, 400 cars had been required in 24 months. Group B machinery would be eligible for both circuit racing and rallying.
Homologation into Group A required 5000 units. Qualifying cars were eligible for rallying and touring car racing. Group A effectively replaced Groups 1, 2 and 3.
1982 was a crossover year during which machinery from the old categories could race alongside those from the new classes. From 1983, all participating cars would have to conform with the latest regulations.
As the Martini-backed Lancia team had successfully participated in Group 6, Fiat agreed they should continue to race in Group C.
Meanwhile, a Ferrari Group B programme was sanctioned for which a new super high performance flagship was created.
The result was a machine dramatically quicker and more expensive than anything else the firm offered at the time.
To reflect the new car’s status as a homologation special, Ferrari revived the famous GTO moniker which stood for Gran Turismo Omologato.
The 288 GTO was announced by Enzo Ferrari in September 1983.
That same month, Porsche unveiled their own Group B challenger: the 959.
Chassis
Unlike the 959, which used a steel monocoque, the 288 GTO was built on a new Tipo F114 AB 100 tubular steel chassis with an integrated cabin roll hoop and separate subframes for ancillary equipment.
Composite inserts were applied for additional stiffening. The rear bulkhead was formed from a Kevlar-covered aluminium honeycomb and the floorpan was fibreglass.
Compared to the 308, the GTO wheelbase was extended by 110mm. This was done because the new car needed to accommodate an engine that was mounted longitudinally in-line with the clutch, differential and gearbox. By contrast, the 308 used a transverse engine layout.
Suspension was fully independent via unequal length high tensile steel wishbones with coil springs and Koni dampers. Anti-roll bars were fitted front and back.
The twin fuel tanks had a combined 120-litre capacity and were mounted up against the rear bulkhead, either side of the engine.
Aluminium hub carrier assemblies were fitted instead of steel.
The ventilated disc brakes were enlarged to 306mm at the front and 310mm at the rear. Ferrari installed dual piston aluminium calipers and a twin circuit brake system (one for each axle).
Speedline supplied the custom 16-inch five-spoke split-rim wheels that measured 8 and 10-inches wide front to back. They were retained by a centre locking hub nut and originally came shod with Goodyear NCT tyres.
Compared to the 308, track was widened by 99mm at the front and 102mm at the rear.
Engine / Gearbox
Starting with the standard 90° V8 used in the 308 Quattrovalvole, Ferrari reduced the engine displacement by 71cc. Twin IHI turbochargers were fitted along with a pair of Behr intercoolers and a host of other exotic upgrades.
To improve weight distribution, the power unit was mounted much lower in the chassis and pushed right up against the rear bulkhead.
Like other Ferrari V8s, the lightweight Tipo F114 B 000 engine used in the GTO was equipped with belt-driven dual overhead camshafts for each bank of cylinders. It also came with the latest four valve heads, flat top pistons, Nikasil cylinder liners, dry-sump lubrication, lightweight connecting rods, a forged steel crankshaft and a magnesium alloy sump.
Displacement was 2855cc thanks to a bore and stroke of 80mm and 71mm respectively. This represented a 1mm bore reduction compared to the 308. Applying Group B’s 1.4 equivalence factor for turbocharged engines gave a swept volume of 3997cc (just inside the four-litre limit).
The compression ratio was reduced from 9.2:1 to 7.6:1.
Engine management was courtesy of an electronic Weber-Marelli IAW system. There was also a Marelli distributor for each bank of cylinders.
Despite its conservative 0.8 boost pressure and lowered compression ratio, the GTO engine developed 400bhp at 7000rpm which made it Ferrari's most powerful road car unit at the time.
This compared to 340bhp for the five-litre Flat 12 found in the 512i BB and 240bhp for the three-litre V8 used in the 308 GTB Quattrovalvole (both of which were normally aspirated).
The torque rating was 366lb-ft at 3800rpm.
Whereas the 308 had a gearbox mounted underneath the engine, the GTO's five-speed unit with its light magnesium alloy casing was located at the rear of the differential. It had a removable end cover to make changing ratios easier.
Bodywork
Externally, the car bore more than just a passing resemblance to the 308 GTB. Howevere, with its pumped up demeanour and host of new details, the 288 GTO looked even better than Pininfarina’s original masterpiece.
A variety of lightweight composite materials were used for the body.
The opening front lid was Kevlar-Nomex while the nose, roof, engine cover and tail fascia were Nomex-GRP.
Glass-Reinforced-Plastic was used for the doors, wings, sills, the front and rear aprons and the inner wheelarches.
Just about the only metal used in the bodywork was aluminium for the louvred panels located on the front lid and behind each pop-up headlight.
Four rectangular spot lights were mounted beneath the front bumper either side of a traditional Ferrari grille. This was shrouded by a redesigned lower nose panel with a body-coloured spoiler that housed intakes for the brakes and five additional openings to help cool the radiator.
To equalise airflow at the back, a flip up rear spoiler was added. A new rear apron was heavily ventilated.
Amid the bulbous wings and aggressive aero pack, Pininfarina managed to incorporate several traditional details. These included Scuderia Ferrari wing shields, scalloped 308-style engine intakes and 250 GTO-inspired cooling louvres carved into the rear fenders.
Aside from the brushed alloy front grille and GTO badge on the tail, the 288 continued the trend for practically no brightwork. The window surrounds and bumpers were finished in black as were the A pillars.
Distinctive body coloured wing mirrors were mounted on high-rise stalks.
Despite its longer wheelbase, thanks to the cropped rear overhang, the 288 GTO was actually 5mm shorter than a 308. It was also 190mm wider.
Interior
Inside, Daytona-inspired seats were built around Kevlar frames. Tilting them forwards enabled access to the engine service hatch.
The seats were divided by a redesigned centre console that utilised 308 switchgear.
Simplified door panels were completely new.
Although the dash and instrumentation looked to have been imported from a standard 308 Quattrovalvole, there were a number of differences. The dash was upholstered in a tough new anti-glare fabric upholstery, a new centre dash panel was added and the passenger side of the dash was simplified.
The dials were also laid out differently and used an orange typeface instead of white.
The main instrument binnacle housed a large 320kmh speedometer and 10,000rpm rev counter in between which was a boost gauge and oil pressure readout stacked one above the other.
Above the ventilation controls on the central dash panel were additional read outs for water temperature, oil temperature and fuel.
A new three-spoke leather-rimmed steering wheel was supplied by Momo.
The mechanical layout meant there was no 308-style trunk at the rear. The front boot had no luggage space either. It was completely filled by radiator cooling fans and a space saver wheel. This meant passengers had to make do with whatever cockpit space they could find.
The heavily louvred engine cover was unusually hinged at the trailing edge.
Tinted glass and wind-up windows were standard equipment.
Options
Customers were able to choose between plain black leather upholstery or seats with orange Nomex inserts. When the orange trim was specified, a matching insert was applied to the passenger side of the dash.
The list of optional extras comprised air-conditioning, electric windows, a single piece of Schedoni luggage, a stereo and a rear fog light.
A handful of special customers also requested red leather seat inserts.
Just one colour was available (Rosso Corsa) and the 288 GTO was only built in left-hand drive.
Weight / Performance
Weight was 1160kg which was 115kg less than a 308 GTB Quattrovalvole.
Top speed was quoted as 190mph and 0-62mph required 4.8 seconds.
USA Version
No US version was ever made although some customers reputedly had their cars individually Federalised.
Production
Following its announcement in September 1983, the planned run of 200 cars was heavily over-subscribed and the 288 GTO sold out before production began.
Upon being unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1984, the GTO officially became the world’s fastest production car.
After seven prototypes, Ferrari ultimately went on to complete 271 customer GTOs by the time production was discontinued in October 1985. One additional car was subsequently completed in March 1986 (for Niki Lauda) which took the total number of cars to 272.
Around one dozen post-production cars were later unofficially built for VIP customers.
Pininfarina were involved in repainting several cars alternative colours.
Homologation & Demise of Group B
Although homologation was granted on June 1st 1985, no competition version of the GTO ever saw action.
Ferrari abandoned the programme as Group B endurance racing failed to get off the ground due in part to the overwhelming popularity of the much quicker Group C Prototypes.
By contrast, Group B took the world of rallying by storm. However, F1-rivalling power outputs coupled with minimal spectator protection led to several fatal accidents. The class was banned at the end of 1986.
288 GTO Pininfarina Speciale
After GTO production had ended, Pininfarina began taking on substantial commissions from the Brunei Royal Family for batch orders of custom Ferraris.
The Turin coachbuilder rebuilt at least four GTOs during the late 1980s, all of which were converted to right-hand drive.
Two were post production VIP cars (chassis 56641 in red and 57727 in black with a red indent).
The other two were used GTOs that had been purchased for conversion (55671 in dark grey with red indent and 56655 in dark blue).
Legacy
Although the 288 GTO never raced, it proved there was a market for ultra-high performance Ferraris that were a step up in price from the norm.
Accordingly, Ferrari switched the GTO Evoluzione from a racing project to a development programme for a GTO successor: the F40.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Ferrari - https://www.ferrari.com
