February 28, 2024 Luc Gagné
Forty years after the unveiling of the Ferrari GTO at the Geneva Motor Show, the Maranello manufacturer is preparing a special event for its customers to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Prancing Horse's first super sports car.
To mark this occasion, owners of this impressive two-seater are invited to take part in the “GTO Heritage Tour”. This tour organized in Italy is a highly tourist activity and takes place from October 1st to 5th. It begins in Val Rendena in Trentino and takes participants to the magnificent passes and breathtaking landscapes of the Dolomite chain, an ideal backdrop for these racing cars.
The route ends in Maranello, where participants can meet members of the original team who worked on the development of the GTO. Maybe they'll learn a few little secrets about their mount, who knows?
Your GTOs will then be displayed at the factory before this tour ends with a parade at the Fiorano race track.
Remember that the Ferrari GTO was a star of the 54th edition of the Geneva Motor Show in March 1984. Very early on, professionals and the general public alike had its powerful 2.8-liter twin-turbo multi-valve V8 (hence the numerical designation “288,” which Ferrari says is unofficial and combines the engine's displacement and the number of cylinders .
The body, designed by Pininfarina, is made of composite materials (carbon fiber, Kevlar and Nomex) and is similar to that of the 308 GTB. The three air inlets that flank the rear wings, however, are reminiscent of the gills of a shark. in turn, the 250 GTO of the early 1960s, from which he takes the acronym GTO (for Gran Turismo Omologato).
Ferrari was originally only supposed to build 200 examples of this car to meet the homologation requirements for the Group B races of the World Sports Car Championship. Ironically, this category was dropped from the championship in 1986. However, this didn't stop the GTO from achieving great success in its niche, with the manufacturer eventually shipping 272 examples before replacing them with the F40 in 1987.
According to insurance company Hagerty, the current value of a GTO in concours condition priced at about $115,000 ($83,400 in the South) is about $5.5 million.
Photos: Ferrari
About the author
His parents say the first three words he uttered were: Mom, Dad and…Volvo. We don't know in what order he said them, but everything suggests that he was destined for a career in the big world of automobiles. He approached the issue through the media. Since the 1980s he has been editor of various magazines, from VAQ Classic Car Magazine (his “school”) to AutoMag, including the bilingual magazine Formula 2000, without forgetting Le Monde de l'auto and Auto Journal. At the beginning of the 21st century he wrote for Le Devoir as well as for Auto123.com, AutoFocus.ca and Auto.Vtélé.ca. You can currently read it on the pages of AnnuelAuto.ca and AutoMedia.ca, as well as in AutoMédia magazine. Luc is also one of those who launched L'Annuel de l'automobile in 2001.