Announced by Enzo Ferrari in September 1983, and unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1984, the GTO sparked off a wave of enthusiasm. The legendary moniker (named after the 250 GTO of the mid-1960s), the stunning styling by Pininfarina, the engine with its seemingly inexhaustible power and the widespread use of innovative composite materials made the GTO the closest thing to a racing car. Largely because that’s exactly what it was conceived to be.

一般的な伝承によれば Ferrari 288 GTOは、後に廃止されたラリーのグループBカテゴリーでレースを走らせるために設計され、公認取得のための200台という生産台数を満たすために限定200台が製造された。しかし、Ferrari 288 GTOの生みの親であるニコラ・マテラッツィによれば、このプロジェクトはグループBの規定より前から存在していたという。 GTOは、エンツォFerrari「フェラーリの断片」とも言える車に敗れるほど、自社のロードカーが優位性を失ったと懸念したことから生まれたと彼は語った。 開発の経緯はともかく、GTOは一度もレースに出場しなかった。グループBは安全上の理由で中止となったが、Ferrari 。ジュネーブでの発表時の反響は絶大で、生産開始前に即完売した。ある購入希望者はGTOを強く望み、製造されれば201番を購入することを証明する書類に2万スイスフランを支払った。彼は幸運にもその1台を手に入れた。 結局Ferrari 1984年から86年にかけて計272台のGTOFerrari 。それでも販売店に割り当てられるのは1台のみ——しかもFerrari承認を得た顧客を厳選する必要があった。大半は希望価格を大幅に上回る価格で取引された。今日ではむしろ割安と言えるだろう。1960年代の先代モデル同様、288 GTOは今やコレクター市場で高く評価されているからだ。

The GTO really captured the imagination, though visually it was nothing startlingly different to the series production models at the time. The Pininfarina-designed body was formed by old-school methods; designers took their preliminary sketches straight to the workshop, dispensing with then-nascent computer aided design. Flared fenders, spoilers, and multiple air intakes front and rear gave the car a much more aggressive stance: a 308 on steroids. Though based on the 308 series silhouette, they shared very few components. The GTO was highly influenced by the Formula 1 team, using a high-tensile steel spaceframe with Kevlar, fibreglass and aluminium elsewhere. Its 400hp, 2,855cc V8 beating heart defined its unofficial name; its fans christened it the ‘288’ to distinguish it from the legendary 250 GTO. The power unit was mounted longitudinally to improve its 1160kg weight distribution, which allowed the ancillaries, gearbox and twin IHI turbochargers to be more efficiently packaged, though Pininfarina design boss Leonardo Fioravanti still had to stretch the wheelbase by 11cm and widen the track. Despite this, the GTO was 5mm shorter than the 308, due to a reduced rear overhang. It is also the first Ferrari to have ever been fitted twin turbochargers. Boasting a top speed of 189mph (305km/h), the 288 accelerated to 62mph (100km/h) in a speedy 4.9 seconds. Regardless of its racing-based origins, the GTO was suitably equipped for road use, with leather trimmed seats as standard and options such as electric windows and air conditioning available.