Ferrari has launched an official tour of the Dolomites in the Autumn solely for owners of the 272 examples of the Pininfarina-styled twin-turbo V8-powered 288 GTO. Built for three years from 1984, the model is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2024 and the sub-€30,000 (for a car and two people) driving experience will take place on 1-5 October. The event will be Maranello’s second ‘legacy tour’, following an F40 jaunt last year in which 39 cars wound their way from Forte dei Marmi through the Apuan Alps and Tuscany to Maranello.
The GTO Legacy Tour will start from Val Rendena and finish in Maranello, where the cars and crews will be welcomed to the factory by the Ferrari Classiche team as well as members of the original GTO team. The visiting GTOs will be displayed inside the factory gates before the tour ends with a parade at Ferrari’s nearby Fiorano test track.
Andrea Modena, head of Ferrari Classiche, promises more than great roads and stunning scenery, however, saying that Piero Ferrari will also be involved in the tour, and tantalisingly suggests that participants will also be the first in the world outside of the factory to encounter a unique Maranello experience.
According to Ferrari Classiche, the 288 GTO is unique among the company’s classic models in that every single example built is thought still to survive. The tour will use the model’s official name of GTO (minus the 288), but is strictly for the anniversary-celebrating 1980s cars, not their 1960s forebears.
Modena said: ‘The exact details are not yet finalised or public because we are trying to create some surprises for the collectors, many of whom have been deeply connected with the company for a long time.’
Just as important to Ferrari, however, is reconnecting with owners who may not have dealings with Maranello at all. ‘It’s often the case that some of these cars like GTO, like F40, are bought and sold outside of the official network, so we don’t actually have any contact with some owners,’ added Modena. ‘That means we don’t get the opportunity to talk to them, to invite them to get their car certified, or to invite them on this event. So part of it is to try to bring those people back into the company and particularly back to Maranello.’
A healthy turn-out is expected from the UK, though places will be limited to Classiche-certified cars and can be booked (by the end of April) only via Ferrari’s dealer network. Dealers will also help with logistics for owners less willing to drive down to Emilia-Romagna.
