And first, before we delve into the juicy stuff, we must discuss the official line on that name. Understandably, Ferrari uses the coolest go-faster tag in the known universe sparingly. History shows that only twice before has The Scuderia attached the ultimate mark of speed and desirability to the buttocks of a street machine.
You know as well as me that those two cars are the 1962 250 GTO and the 1984 288 GTO – both were defined by performance and an intention to go racing. Gran Turismo Omologato is the full description, and homologation was the purpose in both cases, albeit with vastly differing outcomes. The 250 enjoyed a great career, but the 288 GTO was born of the Group B regulations that never delivered the Porsche 959-versus-GTO-at-Le-Mans battles we all craved – leaving it as simply the fastest and most desirable Ferrari road car of its day.
