Yahoo Finance The Ferrari 288 GTO: the car that makes the case for '80s design
A two-dimensional image can never do full justice to beautiful, life-sized subject. And whatever beauty an image does manage to capture quickly fades with repeated viewing. If you stand in front of a Lamborghini Countach, for example, you cannot help but be captivated by the other-worldly outrageousness of it. If you see one in a magazine, on the other hand, your mind will just give a calm nod of recognition at an image it has taken in many times before.
If the car pictured here has something of that seen-it-all-before effect on you, it is probably because anyone on even nodding terms with the 1980s will have seen a car with a very similar silhouette many times before. The Ferrari 308 was one of the poster stars of the 1980s and had a starring role as Tom Selleck’s daily runabout in the wonderfully trippy television show Magnum P.I.
But this car is different from the one seen over and again on bedroom walls and TV screens. A closer look shows wing mirrors up on stalks, like little flags. There is also a wider rear end that accommodates huge fat rear tyres needed to transfer vast amounts of power from engine to tarmac, and spoilers to keep everything pinned to the ground. The Ferrari 308 was already a fast car, but this super-rare 288 GTO was in a different league.
It was created according to a brief handed down from il Commendatore himself, Enzo Ferrari, who told his designers to make a car that was loosely based on the 308, but that would be quick enough to compete in the ferocious Group B racing series. The car they produced had twin turbochargers which forced enough air into the V8’s cylinders to pump out 400 horsepower and propel the car to 189mph, making it the world’s fastest production car when it was unveiled in 1984.
The 288 GTO didn’t get its chance at racing glory, as the Group B series was cancelled due to a lack of participation from other car companies. They were probably afraid. And despite being all dressed up with nowhere to race, there was no lessening of enthusiasm among Ferrari lovers for the car. Only 278 examples are believed to have been built, with all selling out before production had begun. It is now a proper classic, with a seven-figure price tag long-since surpassed.
When the 288 GTO was released it was hailed as an amazing piece of technology, the best a sportscar could be. Now it is one of the best loved cars ever to have come out of the famous factory in Maranello. If there was a Ferrari Hall of Fame, there would definitely be a prominent place for the 288 GTO.
As well as being very rare and very fast, it is a singularly beautiful car, subtly more muscular than the car it was based upon. As you can see it is pretty photogenic, but if you are lucky enough to see one in person, it looks even better.
The 1985 Ferrari 288 GTO is Lot 117 in the Bonhams Bond Street sale in London on Saturday 2nd December 2017. Estimate £2,000,0000 - £2,500,000; bonhams.com
