288 GTO

Guys, the UK Evo magazine ran a fantastic article about 6 months ago with an extensive roadtest compairing the 288, F40, F50 and Enzo. If you get the chance read it. The 288 came out very well and was placed on a subjective rating 2nd to the F50. The F40 and Enzo were way behind for road driving!!!

My own personal opinion is that given the money a 288 is a way better Ferrari than the others, plus there were a lot less built. As for looks the 288 is ageless.................

 

You must be a pretty good driver or they must suck pretty hard . Weight isnt the answer here. A well driven Enzo would let an F40/CS/GTO behind without trying.

It all comes down to the driver. I was in a Stradale a few weeks ago that lapped an Enzo in 5 laps @ Magny Cours. The driver is very fast. The Enzo's probably not.

 

Most Ferraris are NOT built to be the fastest car on the road... or even the fastest in a price range. They are built to be race-bred, rolling works of art. The "super cars" however, were built to be the ultimate car on the road at the time... such that Ferrari's top car is at the pinnacle. Other than the Mclaren F1, Ferrari has kept their "supercars" just beyond everything else on the road. (IMHO, obviously.)

The 288GTO was "it"... for a while... not over the top like the F40... but, rather, it took the 308 concept that still defines Ferrari for many people, and took that concept to its ultimate statement. I don't think anyone will ever devise a more perfect mutation of the 308 than the 288GTO. Not sure its possible. (IMHO, obviously.)

 

The 288GTO is the best ALL ROUND supercar Ferrari has ever built. This car was degined to go fast and handle all types of road conditons, one might encounter out on the street. The Enzo, spent way too much time during development on a smooth track. And Enzo will not keep up to a 288 under street conditions.

Too me the 288 and the F40 are the best of the bunch. The F-50 is wild in its own right, but I just can get passed to looks of the car. The Enzo..well its the 308GT4 of the supercars.

 

Completely agree that the 288GTO and the F40 are the 2 greatest. F50 too civilised and Enzo is a modern supercar that is not that superior to its' peers.

 

If you weren't around in the early 80's, you probably won't truly understand what the 288 was really like when it was released.

Cars in general were not very inspiring. The C4 Corvette was not out yet. We were perhaps under the influence of pushrod or carburetor mass made rubbish. The world was still getting out of the oil crisis and I don't feel that the modern mass produced computerised 'enthusiast' road car had been made yet.

What was one to make of an extremely beautiful car that had an engine that modern cars two decades later still can't match?

The 288 was the first of the modern 'limited edition' supercars.

It's a conneisseurs' F40. Anyone can buy one of the 1,400 F40s out there... the 272 GTOs are for a more discerning customer.

Also it is IMO the spiritual descendent of the 250GTO... the big daddy.

T.

 

Well good grief, I wanna put my two cents in . I was among the living when the 288 came out and I knew it was out. I love all the supercars and those cars, even some slow cars. Since one writer mentioned the Vette back in the 80's please remember the first Vette's were crossfire's and I refuse to say another thing about those Vette's. 288 was the car to own, to lust after, dream for. When Ferrari hit with the 288 there was surprise @ the other car makers and no one could say anything about it or do anything about it. The peak was set by the 288 and the car makers have been fighting ever since on the supercar scale to the $$$ set.

Just what does that last sentence mean. Some cars do it on design and there is not much to be disputed about that. Some cars do it with power and there is not much disputed about that. Some cars do it with $$$ needed and there is not anything to dispute that.

So you take your pick from the above...if it is a combination of the above and you want to drive this car on the street @ times and burn something should the need occur. Which car could do that while the others couldn't be driven so freely (planned routes). I'm in Texas @ present and you will plan your route or have a certain destination in mind with a certain route with no surprise dips in the road. So the 288 is more streetable than the others even though it will bring less oh's and ah's from the folks you desire this from. From us that know these things the 288 will always make us...

Dollars don't always bring the 288 to your door but I assure you they will most certainly and easily bring some other supercars to your door, 288, it costs less and you can drive it right now, you can park it right now. In this world we live in let me see you do that with some other cars and almost not end up in a fight with some fool that has no respect for things that are not their's.

So I will close with this, there are many things that make a supercar a supercar but please remember a car can be super without being noticed.

 

Bar none the most beautiful Ferrari ever introduced IMHO.

 

I owned 14 Ferraris so far and 3 were 288GTOs. Is that a hint?

 

Among the modern crop, yes. But in the classics, there's a bunch to choose from that are just as pretty. For instance, the 250 SWB. That's simply gorgeous, IMO.

 

If you really loved the GTO you would have kept the first one. If you really hated it, you wouldn't have bought another one. So a love/hate relationship?