We brought two Maranello icons straight from the ‘80’s back to the private Ferrari racetrack – cars that are coveted today as much as they were when they were first launched. Dario Benuzzi, the legendary development test driver at Ferrari, was kind enough to test this duo for us – the tamer Testarossa, and the more extreme GTO.
It was as if a few dreams had come true all at once. The first dream was seeing Ferrari’s racetrack gate at Fiorano swing open in front of us. The second was the image in the mirror, reflecting the intake scoop on the side of the 288 GTO, and the nose of the Testarossa following us. And then there was the unmistakable accent of the driver from Modena. The man at the wheel was Dario Benuzzi. Born in 1946, he’s been the development test driver for Ferrari since 1971, and he had his trademark Ray Ban shades resting on his nose.
Many of my generation have owned the Ferrari 288 GTO and Ferrari Testarossa, but in miniature versions. Parked on the floor carpet, which substituted for Monza’s asphalt, or standing on a desk, we could virtually hear the roar coming from the V8 bi-turbo engine of the 288 GTO and the 12-cylinder naturally aspirated motor of the Testarossa. In the 30th year of their birth, a man who can be proud of their performance, made it so that we could hear their engines roar once again. Dario Benuzzi, after all, helped develop the most memorable Ferrari models. “This is the best job in the world,” he told us. This is one track he knows better than the back of his hand – all the bends, straights and the sharp braking points. Over the years, he’s driven over them millions of times to smoothen any possible engineering defects that the cars might have had.
Bound by their year of birth – 1984 – and by names that remind motoring enthusiasts of two legends of the past (the 250 Testarossa of 1957 and the 250 GTO of 1962), the personalities of the 288 GTO and the Testarossa are both very strong and well defined, but extremely different. “The GTO was the stand out car at its time due to its high performance,” Benuzzi explained. “The Testarossa was fast as usual, but targeted a market and customer segment that had less sporty requirements.” The first model was meant for the racetrack, the second for the road.
The 288 GTO was, in fact, born with a precise goal in mind – 200 cars had to be produced to be able to get Group B rally certification. While it ultimately did not end up rallying, it surpassed its main goal by producing a total of 272 cars. Needless to say, Ferrari designer Sergio Pininfarina – along with Leonardo Fioravanti’s support – gave life to a masterpiece. He took a 308 GTB and made it more muscular, aerodynamic, and stronger in profile. There was also a clear reference to the past, featuring the air intake on the side – as in the GTO of 1962.
We couldn’t help but ask Benuzzi how he felt about holding that wheel again after 30 years. “For a moment, you experience an emotion from the past, then you step on the gas and a stronger and more real sensation overpowers you. The sound, the exhaust, the intake, the readiness... you feel like congratulating yourself for having designed such a great car 30 years ago.” Some features of Formula 1 of that era are present in this car – solutions, materials and performance. Its spirit too! The frame of the car is tubular, and the 2.9-litre V8 engine is equipped with two turbos. A real thoroughbred, which, without assistance from any electronics, produces 400bhp and holds the record for being the first production car to cross 300km/h (305km/h to be precise). “For a car to not weigh even 1,200kgs – it’s highly improbable today to register that kind of a power-to-weight ratio,” Benuzzi admitted.
If the 288 GTO shines, the Testarossa doesn’t stand in its shadow either. It took a different path, since its origins were different. “Another amazing car, but more usable,” Benuzzi explained. It was the successor to the 512BB (Berlinetta Boxer), from which it took the 12-cylinder naturally aspirated engine, with a total capacity of 4.9-litres, four valves per cylinder, and tappet covers painted in – you guessed it – red. The result was 390bhp, a top speed of 290km/h, and acceleration from 0 to 100km/h in only 5.7 seconds.
But the feature, which attracted more attention when it was launched at the 1984 Paris Motor Show, was its design. “A breaking line,” as declared by Pininfarina. Its body is sharp-cornered, slender, and, at the same time, very broad – having a rear wheel track almost 15 centimetres wider than the front. Then there are the slats dominating both sides (functioning as air intakes to cool the two engine radiators), and its back end – where it has a peculiar horizontal band that covers the taillights.
The only thing these two machines had in common in 1984 was their price – 19 million Italian Lira for the first, 161 million Lira for the latter. By a twist of fate, it’s now the price difference that separates these cars the most. “They followed completely different paths,” confirmed Antonio Ghini, Director of the Ferrari Museum in Maranello and the Enzo Ferrari Museum in Modena. If a Testarossa is quoted around 50,000 Euros, the 288 GTO is close to 700,000 Euros (and it easily goes for one million Euros). The GTO, being the first hyper car of Ferrari, and an extreme sports car manufactured in a limited number, explains the premium it commands.
And it’s not easy to find a GTO. And what about the Testarossa? “Sergio Pininfarina used to say, ‘bodywork should be innovative, but not extreme.’ The Testarossa has become a symbol of the exhibitionism and hedonism of the ‘80’s,” Ghini insisted. Another reason it’s more affordable is its 7 years (and 7,177 pieces) of production.
“Both cars,” Ghini summed up, “represent a philosophy that all Ferrari models equipped with mid-mounted engines embodied – which was to renounce any kind of comfort to improve performance. They are symbols of everlasting style.”
The first hyper Cavallino
The GTO has all-black leather interiors, with opaque upholstery on the top of the dashboard to avoid reflections on the windscreen. This model was registered in February 1985.
Brutal but endowed with class.
The beige leather upholstery makes the cockpit more elegant.
We would like to thank the Bonini garage for providing us with the 288 GTO, and the Toni Auto garage for providing us with the Testarossa.
The 288 GTO and Testarossa at Fiorano, in front of the building where Enzo Ferrari used to personally follow all the testing carried out at the Fiorano racetrack, and watch each Grand Prix on TV.
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