FERRARI 288 GTO

You may want to update the history of 55163 as follows:
Delivered by German importer Auto Becker to dealer Zender GmbH on 28 March 1985. Six months later, on September 24, 1985, registered on German plates BIR-V 96 to first owner Hans-Jürgen Wayand GmbH, a company in Idar-Oberstein. Exhibited at Garage Zender during a Ferrari meeting held on September 28, 1985. In 1986 the GTO was sold to Hans-Albert Zender.

Marcel Massini

 

54781 was imported to West Germany by Romano Artioli's Autexpo GmbH of Filderstadt and Bolzano and sold new through dealer Autohaus Sprau of Pirmasens, Germany, to first owner Histomobil Ltd., a company owned by Archibald von Wegner.

Marcel Massini

 

As I mentioned, Information & images for the following courtesy of Andreas Birner, perhaps he has all or some of this information, anyway thanks for sharing.

The reason for posting these 4 different German-delivered 288 GTOs is, we believe the identical intake screens they all have were designed and affixed by Ferrari SpA at the point of completion prior to delivery to Germany for different owners & dealers.

 

Sorry to disagree. Back in 1985 and 1986, I personally spoke to quite a number of German individuals (among these were Rolf Ditter, Gerhard Schönleber, Ernst Schuster, Michael Gabel, Erhard Burkart, Knut Lehmann, Peter Witt, Lutz Sommer, and others too), all original owners of a 288 GTO, at the Nürburgring and Hockenheim, and they all told me the same: Mesh grills in door/rear fender intakes were installed by the German dealer individually. Some of these people did not want them installed or had them removed right after registration. All that was 36 years ago, but I was personally present at these meetings.

Marcel Massini

 

No need to be sorry, thank you for sharing this, so they were indeed installed when the cars were new in order to be able to be registered?

It makes no sense that anyone would object to something so obviously useful, this point underscored by all the owners who kept them on their GTOs, and Ferrari SpA themselves who have adopted the mesh screens for all their cars.

 

I've never seen these screens before on a GTO so good to learn something. However, the side scoop photo looks like a badminton racket and breaks up the flow of the classic scoop. Also, screens on another Ferrari (F12) causes corrosion issues so I guess I'm anti-screen as a whole. Would not have allowed a dealer to drill into my new Ferrari either.

 

I think we all agree that aesthetic opinions are subjective, however, the notion that screens are functional is fact, and as we know Ferrari SpA screened the F out of every Ferrari thereafter, witness the F40 with it's beautiful but useful badminton screen below, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Form follows function, I'm with Ferrari SpA on this one 100%.

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Always love to see a GTO parked up after being used for transportation in London, witness the beautiful body shape with chicken coop screens in-situ, beautiful.

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A different GTO in London doing the same thing, providing transportation and looking good.

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52725.

Marcel Massini

 

If this photo from Gooding is period correct, seems the screens seen on the German 288 GTOs have been in use by Ferrari since the 1950s/60s.

Of course back then, assuming this is correctly restored, the world didn't bother much with the notion of peoples limbs getting sucked into the car as the German TUV did, but rather concerned themselves with real world problems such leaves and debris getting sucked up into the engine.

There is useful and then there is utterly stupid.

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You make an excellent point about vintage Ferraris which came before the 288 GTO, although we all know it, your point underscores what I'm saying in favor the functionality of screens in general as adopted by Ferrari SpA.

I think we can easily dismiss the story that the German TUV's mandate was because of people's limbs (as opposed to, say, small dogs) getting sucked into the vents as just that, a story. Understandably, people tend to hate government transportation authorities mandating things for them, wether it was the USA DOT & EPA or the German TUV, and tend to ridicule them or come up with stories about why certain riles were enacted. But once in a while they come up with something truly functional that conformed to the car's overall design and was applied discreetly, such as the 288 GTO German TUV screens.

There was no need for the owner of a German 288 GTO to get all upset about them, if you really hated them, they weren't hard to remove. Meanwhile if I was a German owner who took delivery of a TUV-screened 288 GTO in 1985, I'd pay no attention to the limbs story and immediately realize that the screens performed the function of preventing leaves, stones & debris getting sucked up into the engine, and being a driver who likes to use my cars, I'd be delighted. Which I suspect is why most German 288 GTOs still have the screens affixed today, and, why Ferrari SpA has continued to cover these same apertures on their cars with screens.

 

Form follows function as this 288 performs a smash for game point.

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Game, set and match! Your image illustrates the effectiveness of the mesh screens at speed perfectly.

 

Ferrari SpA are partial to the badminton racket mesh screens, using that design on many cars including icons 599 GTO and 488 Pista and others besides.

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For the LaFerrari the main front screens are a nicer honeycomb pattern, but interestingly the side vents are similar to the chicken coop style of the 288 GTOs rear fender screens.

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For those interested, it turns out that the mesh screens that the German TUV mandated for the 288 GTO were indeed manufactured by Ferrari SpA.

They can see be seen in the parts book for the 288 GTO under table 107.

The actual item and Ferrari part numbers are as follows:

39 - 61730400 left lower grille.
39 - 61730300 right lower grille.
40 - 61730600 left upper grille.
40 - 61730500 right upper grille.

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Here's 61730500 / 61730600 the upper grille, which you can still purchase from parts specialist today.

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Here's 61730300 / 61730400 the lower grille, which you can still purchase from parts specialist today.

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61730500 & 61730600 the upper grilles, handmade in keeping with Ferrari SpA tradition.

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guy please stop getting carried away with debris, leaves, small dogs etc getting sucked up "into the engine" - this is not going to happen.

On a GTO all the water cooling (and air con condenser) is cooled via the front grill.

The rear cooling ducts serve a small oil cooler on the right rear - nothing will enter the engine from here, at worst a bit of debris will hit the cooling fins and drop down.
The other ducts feed cold air into the bottom of the inter-coolers via a metal housing under the inter-cooler - nothing is going into the engine here, at worst the small unlucky Chihuahua will hit the underside of the inter-cooler fall into the housing and be slowly cooked - nothing enters the engine.
The cold air that enters the engine (via the turbo/intercooler system) comes from the air boxes, which have large air filters, they feed air in via the open slats on the engine lid - nothing is entering the engine from here.

 

If such screens were essential, rather than just for box ticking a daft TUV requirement then surely they would have been fitted by Ferrari at the factory to all the later F40s in the same locations on the rear clam and side pods.

 

I believe the legislation was later temoved and this is what allowing things like the 355 to have no slats in the doors

 

The mesh is often used to hide/disguise what is behind the openings as some openings would look rather unfinished without mesh

 

Mark, you illustrate the case for screens perfectly.

Isn't it better to prevent the errant Chihuahua or any number of small birds from entering and getting cooked in the engine area? Rhetorical question.

But seriously, if you actually drive your GTO, things can and will enter the vents.

Isn't it better to prevent debris, rocks, sticks, stones or any number of items from accessing the small oil cooler on the right rear, or puncturing the intercooler? At 100 mph debris or stones are almost as potent as a bullet, and can seriously damage any number of things in the engine bay.

Again, there is a reason why all those clever 288 GTO owners left the screens in place.

On the other hand if your GTO is a static piece which is never driven, then no worries.

From what I understand the requirements were different for every car depending on it's transportation authority homologation process and subsequent TUV inspection and certification. Perhaps someone at the TUV missed this on the F40 or they were lobbied not to mandate them in the same way as the GTO. Who knows what happened with the F40, that said, the F40 has plenty of screens elsewhere. thee point still is, the screens were functional items for the 288 GTO, and Ferrari SpA adopted the TUV's mandate and made the screens.

Correct.

Perhaps, but not in the case of the 288 GTO, there's nothing to hide/disguise in those locations.