Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Ferrari 288 GTO Finished

So after a couple of "false starts" on this enthusiast series kit from Fujimi, I finally managed to convince myself to put in the time to finish this one, and I am glad that I did.

This one of my favorite Ferraris of all time, and one that nearly didn't happen.

The car was originally designed to be a purely race car, intended for the Group B in World Rally. The requirement was to build 200 cars to meet the homologation requirements.
Just as Ferrari began producing the cars, the Group B was cancelled all together, leaving all 272 examples as purely street cars. (Though several have gone on to successful racing careers).

In Ferrari's naming system, this car features a 2.8 Liter, 8 Cylinder engine. Fitted with twin turbo-chargers, it creates nearly 400 horsepower.

It however is a successor, not predecessor to the 308 series of Ferraris.

If you are familiar with the 308 cars, (made famous here by Magnum PI), you can see the resemblance. But changes in suspension and engine layout makes the 288 a bit wider, and a bit longer in the wheelbase than the 308.

Considered by some to be one of Ferrari's first supercars, and a direct predecessor to the Ferrari F40.

Sculpted and shaped body panels by the famous Pinifarina design house, I just can't get over how gorgeous this car looks. Especially for one intended as a purely race driven car.

This one definitely fills a spot in my Ferrari collection, and am glad to have it done and in the display case.
I am also glad to have a little breathing room at work to where I can get back to my hobbies, and sharing them.


Thanks for looking, and more to come (hopefully) soon.