The 1984 Ferrari 288 GTO
(also known as my absolute favorite car)
By Jonathan Mellberg
Surely, you must think me full of it, choosing such an illustrious auto as my all-time favorite. Admittedly, sometimes even I wonder if my subconscious is responsible for steering me toward such an obvious example of not only the precursor to a glorious bloodline of Ferrari supercars, but a car that still bathes in an overflowing pool of love and adoration from car junkies like me. But I think there’s more to my obsession that just obviousness; and I’m going to prove it to you.
And like any good tale, there’s a backstory. My love of Ferrari was sparked roughly 20 years ago when my father made me a wooden box frame clock that featured a picture of a red Ferrari sitting atop an empty concrete parking garage. That red Ferrari, as it turns out, was a 288 GTO. I’ve loved it ever since.
Ferrari 288 GTO
When I finally grew up (a questionable distinction even today) I stumbled upon the knowledge (somewhere along the way) that the 288 GTO was not only rare, not only beautiful, and not only mean, but it was powerful. Incredibly powerful. And here I was half-mistaking it for a Ferrari 308 for the longest time; understandable, as the 288 is loosely based on the 308. And by loosely based I mean that if the 308 were a private in the army, the 288 GTO would be its black-ops SEAL cousin.
288 GTO
The more I learned the storied history of this elusive and rarefied hyper-exotic, the more I loved it. I felt like this car was all mine. Nobody knew what it was, and nobody loved it as much as me (delusional, I know). Sure, I have other favorites like the Testarossa (the original and the revival), and the F40. Ah, the F40; another super-mean, super-fast exotic that broke the 200mph barrier and became Ferrari’s first halo car. It’s a tradition that’s continued ever since with successors like the F50, the Enzo, and culminating with perhaps the most sophisticated and powerful Ferrari ever (not to mention Maranello’s first hybrid), the LaFerrari. And every time one of these four-wheeled gods is mentioned, I can’t help beaming with a sort of pseudo-parental pride, because their existence, all of them, can be traced back to one car: the 288 GTO. My car.
288 GTO
I’ve always enjoyed rare cars. Sure, I love '70 SS Chevelles; but I’d rather get my mitts on a ’69 Yenko Nova (less than 40 were built and could zip to 60mph in less than four seconds according to Don Yenko himself). I love the angrily purposeful C5 Corvette Z06, but I’d rather take ownership of the maroon, 50th anniversary Corvette with the Targa roof and magnesium wheels. Why should my rule of rarities be any different for my favorite brand? Sure, I love the current Ferrari California (I even got my picture taken in the driver’s seat during my bachelor party in Vegas), but at over 10,000 units sold, it ain’t exactly a low-volume seller; not for Ferrari. In fact, it's just the opposite. On the other hand, Ferrari birthed less than 275 examples of their homologation-specific boy racer, the 288 GTO. It used the 308 GTB’s 3.0 V8 but was de-bored to 2.8 liters to meet Group B racing specificity. Fitted with twin turbochargers, the 288 made a heart-palpitating 400hp and 366lb-ft of torque. Its race-ready nature was never fully exploited as Group B racing suffered two deaths in 1986 and the race class was disestablished, meaning every 288 GTO built was headed for the streets instead. You might call that a silver lining. The 288 GTO was good for 0-60 blasts in under five seconds and was the first production car to hit 300kph (or in proper measurements, 189mph). It could reach 0-125mph in fifteen seconds flat. As raucous as the 288 was, its evil twin the 288 GTO Evoluzione made the standard GTO look like Dr. Jekyll. Of the five built, the Evoluzione packed 650hp, weighed just over 2000 pounds, had extensive aerodynamic cladding and rocketed all the way to a top speed of 225mph. It also served as the missing link (perhaps visually the most) between the 288 GTO and its inevitable replacement: the formidable Ferrari F40. Impressed yet? You damn-well better be!
288 GTO
But the 288 GTO and I have more in common than you may realize. Both of us materialized in 1984. That means we both turned 30 this year. Surely the 288’s birthday was more celebrated than mine, as it should be. Because the more things change (I’m talkin’ at you, LaFerrari), the more they stay the same. Sure, the LaFerrari costs $1.X million, sure it has a combined output of 950hp, and sure, it’s technically a hybrid (a Ferrari attribute more rare than turbocharging), but in reality, and within the scope of modern-day 2014, it’s just another state-of-the-art halo car built to decimate all other current contenders. And that’s pretty much what the 288 GTO did in 1984.
Ferrari 288 GTO Evoluzione
So, there’s only one thing left to do. Before I die (and hopefully, whilst I’m still writing blogs to you, dear readers) I will find a 288 GTO. I will gaze upon its beauty, touch it, kiss it, try not to drool on it, sit in the driver’s seat, breathe in its exhaust –anything I can do to experience this car. Because hey, it’s my all-time favorite car, and that's what normal people do.
-Thanks for reading The Wheelspin Journal-
photo by the author
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