
The GTO started a dynasty. Every decade or so, Ferrari creates a new machine that pushes the boundaries of what a production road car is capable of. There had previously been plenty of special Ferraris but the arrival of the GTO in 1984 began a legacy that now spans 40 years and six generations of Supercar.
The second chapter quickly established itself. Group B regulations required 200 road-going versions of a model to be built, but manufacturers could create more extreme competition variants by building 20 ‘Evolution’ examples.

Group B’s racing regulations were stillborn, meaning the GTO never competed, but six 288 Evoluziones escaped captivity, with looks and performance that made the standard car look almost pedestrian. Pininfarina reworked the body with a focus on aerodynamics, lightweight materials dropped the weight to 940kg and larger turbos increased engine power to 485kW.
Whereas the standard GTO could muster an impressive 238kW/tonne, the 288 Evoluzione more than doubled this to 515kW/tonne. All six still exist today and the Evoluzione set the precedent for a more extreme version of every Ferrari Supercar being created.
Looking at a 288 Evoluzione, it’s clear to see that it’s the bridge between the GTO and the F40. Despite a relatively similar mechanical layout, the cars couldn’t have been more different. Ironically, the GTO was a well-equipped road car that was intended to race and the F40 was a Spartan racer for the road that was never intended for competition.
The F40 was more powerful (352kW/577Nm) than its predecessor, faster (324km/h, the first road car to top 200mph), much more expensive (US$399,150) and much more numerous, with 1311 being produced between 1987-92. Such incredible performance without a single driver aid means, sadly, far fewer than 1311 remain.
For a car that was never intended to race, the F40 had quite a distinguished competition career with numerous variants. There was the LM IMSA GTO in IMSA, the Competizione for collectors, the GT for the Italian GT Championship, the LM for the BPR Global GT Series and the GTE for GT1, competing as late as 1997!

By this time Ferrari’s new Supercar had appeared, the F50. It was radically different mechanically to its predecessor, with an F1-derived naturally aspirated V12 as a stressed member of Ferrari’s first carbon road car tub. While its 382kW/471Nm meant it was little – if any – faster than the F40 in a straight line, the F50’s progress was evident in its 1min27sec Fiorano lap time, a massive 2.6sec quicker than the F40.
Some cars are so rare and exotic that they gain almost mythical status and the F50 GT is one of those. Developed in conjunction with Dallara and Michelotto, it was destined for the BPR Global GT Series, but the folding of that championship and creation of unique homologation specials for the newly formed FIA GT Championship led to the cancellation of the project.
Just three were produced, with a screaming 10,500rpm, 4.7-litre V12 producing 551kW/529Nm, giving the 910kg F50 GT a 376km/h top speed. Happily, it’s believed all three still exist and one is in regular use.

Ferrari’s new Supercar project would be unbelievably ambitious, not just because of its mechanical specification but because of the expectations generated by its name – Enzo. Any car named after Il Commendatore would need to be very special indeed, but the Enzo delivered.
A 6.0-litre V12 produced 485kW/657Nm, 27 per cent more power and 40 per cent more torque than the F50, paddle shifters arrived for the first time on a Ferrari Supercar and there were active aerodynamics and carbon-ceramic brakes.
It once again set a new performance benchmark, with 0-100km/h in 3.65sec, an 11.0sec quarter mile, 350km/h+ top speed and a Fiorano time of 1min24.9sec, another 2.1sec quicker than the F50.
The Enzo also gave birth to the XX program, allowing selected customers access to track-focused versions of Ferrari’s latest Supercar. In its ultimate Evoluzione guise, the FXX produced 633kW from a larger 6.3-litre V12, along with far greater downforce and slick tyres.
It would be 11 years before Ferrari would debut another Supercar, as large a gap as between the GTO and the F50, but it would be worth the wait. Once again, Ferrari would use its flagship as a technical showcase, breaking new ground in aerodynamics and electronics, while also introducing electrification to the brand.

As such, it would be the ultimate Ferrari – LaFerrari. A hybrid system applied to a development of the Enzo’s V12 resulted in 688kW/900Nm and while the LaFerrari evolved many technologies introduced on the Enzo, including active aero and adaptive suspension, it was a quantum leap forward in electronics with cutting edge stability control software.
A five-second improvement in the Fiorano lap time over the Enzo – a gap equivalent to that between the Enzo and F40 – is evidence of its incredible leap forward in performance, yet the LaFerrari was also more comfortable and efficient. The FXX-K increased its track performance with modifications to the engine, hybrid system, aerodynamics and electronics, including the introduction of Side Slip Control.
Which brings us to today and the sixth member of Ferrari’s Supercar family, the F80. Compared to its grandfather, the GTO, it’s like a creation of science fiction. Power is now 883kW from a 3.0-litre hybrid-assisted twin-turbo V6 and a pair of electric motors on the front wheels ushers in all-wheel drive for the first time.
In the time it takes the GTO to hit 100km/h, the F80 is nearing 200km/h (5.75sec).
At Fiorano, the F80 could give the GTO a 20-second head start and still cross the finish line first, thanks in no small part to 1000kg of downforce at 250km/h.
No one outside Ferrari has yet driven the F80, but on past form you’d be brave to bet against it rewriting what a road car is capable of. And yet, history tells us that in a decade’s time, those rules will be rewritten all over again.

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