Ferrari’s first hypercar – the 288GTO – tops September’s C&SC

| 1 Aug 2013

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.

Away from the red-blooded Italians, Martin Buckley pictures what it must have been like to own an extravagant drophead in austere post-war Britain, as he weighs up his three favourite ’50s soft-tops: the Jaguar MkV, Alvis TA21 and Daimler Special Sports.

Graeme Hurst has been driving a ‘new’ Lotus Elite that has been lovingly built from a previously unused kit that included a body made from factory moulds by Tony Bates in the ’90s. Graeme also samples an extensively uprated example, re-engineered using modern techniques.

Mick Walsh re-evaluates one of the finest sports cars of the ’30s – the Lagonda M45 Rapide – and finds out what allowed this Staines-built machine to compete with the best from Italy and Germany. He also ponders the link between this car’s first owner, author Leslie Charteris, and his most famous character The Saint.

Russ Smith has been looking at more modern competitors – Jaguar’s XJ-SC and the Mercedes R107 300SL. But which will he choose from the sporty, rare and bargain-priced Brit and the hone-from-stone Mercedes that has become a byword in ‘wind in the hair’ motoring?

There’s even a (unique) convertible in the superb group that Andrew Roberts gathered to celebrate the Rover P6’s 50th anniversary.

Meanwhile, The Earl of March introduces our guide to the Goodwood Revival, which tells you everything you need to know for the premier classic car event, including the legends from motor sport who will be there, some of the cars that will be competing, how you too could race there and much more.

And let’s not forget the regulars, including top columns from Simon Taylor and Alain de Cadenet, updates from the C&SC fleet (featuring Martin Port’s latest purchase), a Fiat 600 Buyer’s guide, events, news, historic motor sport and discoveries.

But for a high-definition flavour of what you can look forward to, scroll down for our free wallpapers.

Exploring the Kielder roads in Lancia’s point-to-point specialist – the Integrale.

Ferrari’s racer for the road the 288GTO: still want that F40?

Fiat’s cute but practical 600 out in the countryside.

The fabulous and under-rated Lagonda M45 Rapide.

The Jaguar MkV does battle with the Alvis TA21 and Daimler’s Special Sports.

A group shot of Rover’s revolutionary P6.