1984 Ferrari GTO

THE SUPERCAR SYNDROME

The GTO was the real starting point for the “Supercar Syndrome”, showing that there was a market for a low volume production, extreme performance sports car, at almost any cost! Before people had even taken delivery of their GTO the contract had been sold on, sometimes more than once, and with each change of hands came a healthy profit for the vendor.

Through the remainder of the eighties there was a knock on effect to the more mundane (in elitist terms) models. New models were introduced by various manufacturers to capture a slice of the action, and soon virtually the whole classic and sports car market was caught up in a whirlwind of spiralling prices, that eventually had nowhere to go but down. When they did, it was suddenly and with a bang, leaving many speculators with assets of massively negative collateral.

The GTO really captured the buyer’s imagination, although visually it was nothing startlingly different from the mainstream Ferrari eight cylinder models of the period, looking like a 308 that had been on a course of steroids, with more bulbous wheel arches, a lower stance and bigger spoilers.

The revisions gave it a more aggressive appearance, and under the skin there was muscle enough to pack a powerful punch, complimenting the brawny exterior.