Maggiore came to the world’s attention two years ago with a Ferrari 308 restomod. Now, it has revealed its followup, an homage to the beloved Ferrari 288 GTO that it’s calling the Gran TurismO.
Perhaps the most important detail of this new project, the engine, is based on the 2.9-liter turbocharged V8 that powered the 288 GTO, among others, and has been modified thoroughly for use here. The original crankcase is retained, but the engine gets new heads, eight individual throttle bodies, a new manifold intercooler, a carbon fiber plenum, and sequential turbochargers.
The engine also now gets a dry sump and, all in, Maggiore says that the 2.9-liter V8 is now 30 percent smaller than it was originally, per Piston Heads. That means that it can now be installed longitudinally within the car (as opposed to being installed transversely, as it originally was in, say, the 308 GTS).
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That should help improve driving characteristics, as should the new horsepower figures. According to Top Gear, the result of all of that fettling is 529 hp (394 kW/536 PS). Piston Heads reports that it’s actually good for 600 hp (447 kW/608 PS), but it’s a lot of power either way, and it’s all being routed through a six-speed manual transmission.
Although there’s a big power gulf between those two reported figures, you’ll understand in a moment why that’s sort of beside the point. The modifications to this haven’t been done by some yahoos with a dyno and a passion for compressing air. Instead, they were done under the watchful eye of Nicola Materazzi.
To understand the importance of that name, you first have to know that the Ferrari 2.9-liter V8 actually started out life as a V6 racing engine designed by Alfredo “Dino” Ferrari. After being used in a few road cars, it gained two more cylinders in the ’80s, and, finally, was turbocharged by Materazzi (et al.) and put into the 208, the 328, and the 288 GTO.
Sadly, Materazzi passed away this month, just a few days before the car was unveiled to the world. Gianluca Maggiore, the owner of the company behind this restomod, said that it was his greatest regret that he was not “able to share this moment” with the legendary engineer.
As one of Materazzi’s final projects, then, it gives the Gran TurismO’s backstory an immediate appeal. Naturally, though, there’s more to the car than just the engine. The rest has been gone over and Maggiore gives the car a wider track, Brembo brakes, and a suspension made of Ergal, an aluminum alloy developed for the aerospace industry.
What remains of the donor car (any member of the Ferrari 208/308/328 family will do), meanwhile, is “completely restored and reinforced to withstand the new levels of stress.” No pricing has yet been revealed for the treatment and no date set for the start of production, but Maggiore thinks that late 2023 would be as good a time as any to start.
