A stunning Ferrari 288GTO stars on the cover of the new 292-page issue of C&SC that also features a Lagonda Rapide, a drop-top shootout with the Jaguar XJ-SC and Mercedes SL, a freshly built Lotus Elite, plus your essential 14-page preview to the Goodwood Revival.
While the Ferrari F40 always looked like a racer, it was the car the preceded it – the 288GTO – that was built with competition in mind.
Alastair Clements reckons, though, that the 288GTO is the landmark car. Its 400bhp may seem modest by modern standards, but combine it with a lightweight, mid-engined set-up, plus turbocharged delivery and, as Clements discovers, the scope for fun is near-limitless. But you need to be wary of those limits.
Sadly, the cost of buying one is well beyond most of us, so Al also picks five performance bargains that aren’t far off the GTO’s pace – starting at just £10k.
Next, Mick Walsh looks at Maserati’s sublime A6G/2000 Spyders then tells us how one turned up in a storage unit that was auctioned in the US. That would be the first step in a fastidious restoration.
James Page has been behind the wheel of yet another Italian sensation as he recalls the role the Kielder forest played in the 1988 RAC Rally while exploring the fantastic roads nearby in a fantastic 215bhp, four-wheel drive Lancia Integrale Evo 2.