FERRARI 288 GTO

Ferraris in motion, their sights and the sounds, thats what its all about.

Joe
www.joesackey.com

 

I understand that he does...

Joe
www.joesackey.com

 

Take your kids to a car show. There aren't many that truly are as the factory built them.... thankfully the ones that are are staggered throughout the country, and they are still enthusiastic about sharing in the passion with any joe at that car show

That thread I linked to... That Eyes show, the design is more important then the condition of the car. Yet, many could easily win at a concourse show. The Vector there has a mere 630 miles, and runs absolutely flawlessly, I've personally been to 147 mph in it in just 12 seconds! not bad for a low miles all original car that supposedly overheats and isn't reliable (according to Andre Agassi anyway Ha!). The XJ220 had bug splatter all over it. It's here under "show and display" and is done so on the street as often as the owner is able to... making what might be "record time" from his home. The Enzo and 288 are drivers, but the Enzo is A LOT of car for the street, and doesn't get much seat time... the 288 is simply perfect, and almost 'stealthy'. All these cars on the street going home... now that was a sight to see (or on the way in). Everybody has a different approach, and yet each of them have the same outcome.... sharing the passion at the car show. Some are driven a lot, others a little, and others yet almost not at all... and the car show brings them all together.

 

I have taken them to countless shows in the past decade. As with me, new horizons beckon. Read my peice to Jas in the other thread. I think it explains it well.

Joe
www.joesackey.com

 

Spending my life mostly as "any joe" when looking at other peoples cars the last thing on most Joe's minds is man that shows well! Maybe man that would go well! An art show, a flower show - these are inanimate objects that are only good for display purposes. The true nature and essence of a car only comes out in the motion and that doesn't really happen at a car show . . .

Having a passion for showing the cars and competing for originality is fine, just don't kid yourself that thats sharing with 'any Joe'. He'd much rather go for a ride . . .

 

oh, I read it. But I think you missed something, and I wasn't saying take (YOUR) kid to shows.... but the "royal" you as in anybody who reads the post.

I agree that the car is far different then a flower, but you seemed to miss the point as well.

a car show isn't just for the guy who shows and displays his car.. a car show isn't just about a 95 point car, or just about winning.... or just about a car "not being in motion"

I linked in the f40 thread to a show that quite a few of us went to.... an excuse to cruise down in a convoy of rare exotica; no two cars there for the same reason; but all of us driving down for some auotomotive neck-snapping wonders

 

Isaac,

Just look at the number of posts and the time spent on different chats-appears to me the only thing being driven is the seat in front of a computer. Anytime someone tells someone else what they need to do or not do with what they own-they are massively confused. These peices are works of art. If I want to polish it, keep it tuned to perfection, drive to a show or not--that's no one else's business. Hell, If I want to burn it in my front yard the only other people that should be concerned should be the fire department. See you at the concourse! Oh yeah, I'm driving to it.

 

only as a secondary nature, a cars primary focus is not and never has been to be art

 

It depends on your definition of "art". If you see art as something only to be looked at: Yes, sure. If you consider the car's beauty, the technical fascination, the passion, the joy of driving, all those factors, in their entirety, I think you can call it a piece of art.

 

I finally have been able to spend some time behind the wheel of the 288 (heaven knows where I find the time with all this internet nonsense to keep up with... time-management perhaps) and I must say right away that my perspective is obviously be that of someone who has already had the benefit of ten F40 years, so the GTO experience is "new" for me. I never drove one prior to this car.

Before you even sit in the car you have to take a moment to look at it. And thats where the GTO really scores. Its seminal shape is so beautiful it hurts. Not quite Miura SV stunningly beautiful (which in my biased eyes has no peer), but simply beautiful or beautiful in an understated way. As soon as you get in you realize that this is a car thats very easy to access and I can see how Steve H and DM18's wives prefer this car. Ive no doubt this is the Ferrari Supercar that will have the greatest approval ratings amongst the ladies (if you care about that sort of thing...). Its interior appointments with velour dash, nice carpeting and carefully stitched seats are grand-tourer luxurious compared to the F40! LOL. The sheer anarchy of the F40's spartan cabin makes me laugh by comparison....
Twist the key and thumb the button in the same push-starter technique and the burble from the engine is more restrained than the F40's harsh mechanical racecar sound. Dip the clutch and you also notice that the clutch action is smooth and a lot softer and does not require the he-man effort that the F40 does to operate it. Into second and now the wail starts to resemble the F40's, open the throttle to experience the boost..... what boost?....OH, heeeere it comes! LOL. Compared to the F40 the boost arrives at higher revs and much more sedately (any F40 owner is spoilt by the sheer viciousness of that car's boost delivery), but its there all right and can get you into plenty trouble. The car feels much smaller around you and easire to drive and maneuvre on smaller roads and in town. You dont have to focus as much as the F40 so its a much more relaxing fun car to drive in that respect. No wonder that doctor drove his to work every day to 60,000 miles! Brakes are not as good as the F40s but in the GTO you really feel as though it has about 100bhp less than the F40 so perhaps the stoppers are adequate for the performance.
An understated jewel of a car compared to the F40, I can see how DM18 says if he could keep just one car the 288 would be it. Its a great all-rounder, and when you stop to get out, take a moment to look back and just stare at it. That rounds off the driving experience nicely....

Joe
www.joesackey.com


PS - Steve if you read this I hope the trip goes well - Steve H has to be in Los Angeles for a meeting this weekend. So does the man book a flight? No. He PMs me that he is hopping in the GTO and driving straight to LA all the way from Northern California! Thatll be a nice 800-mile round trip 'flying' along California's Pacific Coast Highway in his 288. How does life get much better?
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This is Ron Tonkins From Portland, Or He also owns a F40, F50 and Enzo
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From the recent article in Hemmings, an old classic, and a well-known car in England sporting 'Megaphono' pipes.

Joe
www.joesackey.com
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I can't recommend the megaphono pipes highly enough. I have my stock exhaust all wrapped in bubble wrap awaiting the next owner (after I am dead and assumming that my son doesn't want the car) but in the meantime the megaphono's are the greatest. Cheap and big fun. How can you beat flames

 

LOL. Can you share where you got your system or did your car arrive that way? I know Tubi will make a set but I think the original black-annealed Ansa unit looks best and someone said Bob Houghton in England still has some... please feel free to PM me on this.

BTW, the way things are looking with my 16-year-old son, buying one of our cars from him in the future will be a major challenge for anyone, Im happy to report. I think its all that co-pilot seat time...

DM18, do you find a significant difference in power between F40 and 288 as I do?

Joe
www.joesackey.com

 

Joe,

It's interesting you find a significant power difference between the GTO and F40. I do not. Given the number of F40s I've passed on the track and, to date, have never been passed by an F40, the difference hasn't been that great. Is the GTO your driving up to snuff?

There is clearly a difference between the two. I'm well aware I can go faster in a F40 at the track than the GTO, all things being equal. Also, a big difference in how the power comes on. Oh, before I forget, you mentioned the GTO's turbos come on at a higher rpm than the F40. GTOs are load sensitive, not rpm sensitive. So, for example, if you put the GTO in 5th gear at 1000 rpm and nail the throttle, you'll be at maximum boost pressure.

A question for your, did you notice that the GTO is lighter than the USA F40? That's one reason I always suspected the GTO as been a wolf in sheep's clothing relative to the USA F40. Sure, the F40 has more power and better brakes, but still lousy for the performance envelope for the car (360 Challenge brakes will cure that), but once you're accelerating from around 30 mph and up, it's more of a horse race than you think. From a dead stop, the F40s overboost electronics, much more tyre, etc. will kill the GTO on the launch. But, once you're going......

Oh, I'm back from LA and will be driving from Los Gatos to Carmel to grab some lunch with some guys. Yup, the GTO is the weapon of choice. It doesn't miss a beat.

Steve

 

Steve,

Great insight as usual. Yes, compared to the F40 the GTO feels... LIGHT! Not as 'planted' and not as harsh a ride, but the chassis feels lighter, and more 'nervous' too - less rubber on the road I suppose. I think the GTO is circa 2,500lbs compared to the USA F40's 2,900 lbs - according to the scribes - Im yet to do any weighing myself.
Either the GTO is slow, or my F40 is really quick (LOL, I think the latter is the case 'cos know I have one dialed-in F40, courtesy of the experience I gained from the previous one I owned). And yes I agree, 'Numero Uno' behind the wheel of a GTO would run circles around us in our F40s so the difference in power is not huge, its just 'noticeable', probably most of all because of the F40's taut chassis and the brutal WAY that car delivers its power.

Joe
www.joesackey.com

 

Joe,

Back from the lunch. $20 for lunch. (As someone commented, funny how the lunch is half the price per person when the signifcant, or insignifcant, others are not in attendance.) Probably $50 in gas. Wonderful.

You're correct in that the F40 is definitely a stiffer car. Which is one reason it is a better track car. In general, I prefer the GTO for the road and the F40 on the track. The GTO is more of a challenge to driver quicker which is one reason I like it. It rewards good drivers and can really punish a bad one. There is a reason why so many left and/or right rear quarters have been replaced.

My memory may be jaded here, but the only time I remember the GTO really wandering is full throttle over the hill on the main straight at Laguna Seca. I still remember giving a hot lap in the GTO around Laguna Seca for a Pininfarina employee and then a Ferrari tech guy. I asked how fast they wanted to go and both expressed the same interest in seeing what the car could do. I thought the Pininfarnia guy's eyes were going to burst through the face shield on this helmet the way he reacted to the car at full throttle over the hill as I passed a 360 CS doing down the hill into Turn 2. Then a nice drift under trail braking into turn 2 to set up for the second apex and then accelerate hard at the exit towards turn 3. You gotta love the tyres talking to you while drifting in. You don't want to scrub coming out (loose way too much speed), but going in is fine. I explained to the guy that the car getting light over the hill is normal and there is no way around it except to slow down. To his credit, he didn't want to slow down.

Probably the most nervous person, with reason, was another Ferrari employee I was giving hot laps to at Thunderhill when a tyre started to go down. I was fine on the main straight and then whipped into the turn 1 and..... the rear end started to come around. A quick adjustment, catch the car, enter into turn 2 with a balanced throttle and all was well as we cruised back to the pits to get a new tyre.

Steve

 

I would say that I would not trade my F40 for a GTO because the F40 is so much more competent in all areas on the road or track but the GTO is a lot of fun. The solution then has to be to have BOTH, which is perhaps why I suspect and note that many collections have both cars. They are quite different in character and its easy to enjoy each of them seperately..

BTW, in this month's Sports Car Market there is a big article on the 288 GTO extolling its virtues and generally waxing lyrical about the car. Conclusion? They say its a "hot" item in the Ferrari market right now, but I still think the numbers being discussed privately in the marketplace are a bit inflated (which doesnt matter if youre not selling). See http://www.sportscarmarket.com/Profiles/2007/October/Ferrari/

Joe
www.joesackey.com
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Bob Houghton did my 288 GTO exhaust. He recommended it and I followed his advice on blind faith. As always, find an expert and listen to him! I don't find a significant difference between my 288 GTO and my F40 in power. My F40 has 18' OZ's and Brembo big brakes so I find a significant difference in grip and stopping! 288 GTO is much better on the road than the F40 and F40 is much better than the 288 GTO on the track

 

Heroic! I would drive my Formula Renault that hard but not my 288 GTO. Great post.

 

And the next car for an individual of that persuasion will be the F60 (or whatever it is called) - light, twin turbo V8 - sound familiar??

 

Yes I have it good authority that Bob indeed knows his stuff where 288 GTOs and F40s are concerned. Im in touch with him currently. Can I trouble you to share some images of your 'Megaphonos'?

Joe
www.joesackey.com

 

Sounds very familiar, and exciting! Hopefully the third variant of twin turbo V8 Ferrari Supercar...

Joe
www.joesackey.com

 

These images of a German-delivered 288 GTO are courtesy of our freinds at Auto Zeitung. GTOs delivered to Germany are characterized by mesh screens covering the air intakes as per German TUV regulations of the period. At least one such car is currently in the USA.

Joe
www.joesackey.com
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And this image is so sexy it deserves its own post I think.

Joe
www.joesackey.com
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