Thanks for posting. This is a re-post from the folks pandering for YouTube hits using Daddy's Supercars featured in pointless stunts Ad Nauseum. Drive that thing in Club Racing, or in a Cross Continent Rally, say Peking to Paris, actually accomplish something on track or road with definable results, and we'll be impressed. I feel sure I speak for more than just me...
Just heard that Albert Zender sold his 288 GTO. Anybody knows were it is now? Image Unavailable, Please Login
Beautiful pictures, but what makes one 288 GTO order any more special than all the rest? Were any built on speculation, or all to order?
Ferrari SpA only needed to build 200 cars for Homologation purposes to qualify for FIA Group B. Therefore, all the cars beyond the first 200 were cars that were special-ordered & approved. Correspondence on file for this car built well after the 200th GTO (& others I have seen) underscore that this was the case. That said, I am not sure any were built on speculation, as the model run of 200 cars was sold out upon announcement.
but I was of the belief that all 288 GTO's built had minimal options only,, NO custom orders... the options included interior color..all black or the red w/black...w/air conditioning, a radio and p. windows.... I was always of the belief that that was it.... Am I correct??? And I could be wrong, also... OH, and one more... fitted luggage for the "truck" (one single bag).
Yes, you are basically correct, the cars were supplied in Rosso (red) only and minimal options which included: Power windows, AC, red nomex seat-inserts, and Schedoni single-piece luggage. The cars came with wired speakers and a blank-plate fitted, the radio was installed by individuals or dealers. A couple of people who wielded considerable influence over the factory got them to replace the red nomex seat inserts with red leather seat inserts. A handful of owners got Ferrari to deliver the cars with a sport exhaust system they had built and tested by Ansa, what we now refer to as the 'Megaphone' pipes. The Brunei cars in RHD spec and in different colors were not done by Ferrari but were done post-production by Pininfarina based on standard LHD red GTOs.
I spoke to him 2011 and it sounds that his son had no interest in the car (and Ferrari generally...) but i thought he would keep his beloved 288 GTO for the rest of his life. Sad to see that this great Ferraristi was the only one in the family. The info that he sold the car i got last week and thought that the sale wasn't long time ago but i will look for some better infos. I always hoped that i got the chance on this car but the market didn't worked for me...
thanks Joe for your insight.. I really wasn't sure on this... Also, you stated... "A couple of people who wielded considerable influence over the factory got them to replace the red nomex seat inserts with red leather seat inserts. A handful of owners got Ferrari to deliver the cars with a sport exhaust system they had built and tested by Ansa, what we now refer to as the 'Megaphone' pipes." ...are these documented cases?? or just hearsay?? also....a few of these were yellow... was that factory? or where, in fact, all 288 GTO's red when they left the factory?
All GTOs bodies were finished in red paint by Scaglietti, and the cars were delivered that way by Ferrari SpA. No exceptions. As I said, "the cars were supplied in Rosso (red) only". Accordingly, "The Brunei cars in RHD spec and in different colors were not done by Ferrari but were done post-production by Pininfarina based on standard LHD red GTOs." This is true of the early car (47649) that is yellow. It was done by Pinninfarina. The other yellow car in Japan (54215) could have been painted there, I am not sure. Either way, they all left Maranello as new cars in red, including the yellow examples you mention. Yes, there are these documented cases of cars with the red leather seat inserts, as opposed to just hearsay. I tend to try and stay away from the latter... One example is chassis number 56759 delivered new to Colin Briggs in Scotland. In the July 1986 issue of UK's CAR magazine, he details how he used his influence to effect the red leather seat inserts, as I described. Here is a page from the article showing the seats. I know at least one other GTO with the same appointments which I have seen personally. As regards the Ansa Megaphonos, lets say its common-knowledge and much-discussed in this thread. Hope this helps. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Photographed @ Maranello in 1985 by my photog friend Martyn Goddard, proof again of the red leather seat inserts. Image Unavailable, Please Login
This car has just appeared for sale. 1,997 miles from new: Ferrari 288 GTO - For Sale At Talacrest It looks like it has the non-leather inserts from the photos and has a mileage milometer (not kms). Which car is this?
Follow up question - were GTOs all supplied with KMH speedos or were some MPM (eg for the US and UK)?
I'm not in a place where I can definitively check my notes, but the speedos the cars were built with are exactly like you see on the Talacrest car with MPH & KMs speed markings and an odometer which reads in KMs. Of course anything can be changed and USA compliance agents did that sometimes.
