Pirelli is celebrating the 40 anniversary of the Ferrari 288 GTO by giving the 1980s supercar icon some new tires.
The company revealed a newly developed Cinturato P7 for the 288 GTO at the 2024 GTO Legacy Tour, in which owners celebrated the car’s 40th anniversary with a meandering drive through Italy’s Dolomite Mountains to Ferrari’s headquarters in Maranello.
Ferrari 288 GTO
The Cinturato P7 is part of the Pirelli Collezione range of tires for vintage cars. These combine modern design and construction with period-appropriate looks, according to Pirelli. The GTO-spec tires will be offered in the same sizes as the originals—225/50 R16 in front and 265/50 R16 in back.
It’s not just the application that’s vintage. The original Pirelli Cinturato P7 was developed for the 1974 World Rally Championship and launched as a tire for road cars in 1976. Pirelli calls the tire its first ultra low-profile offering, as it had a very low sidewall height compared to its tread width. That’s become more commonplace over the years, but was noteworthy in the 1970s.
Ferrari 288 GTO
The 288 GTO can also trace its origins back to rally. It was the spiritual successor to the legendary 250 GTO of two decades earlier, which meant it was a homologation special. The original plan was to enter it in the Group B rallying category, but that was cancelled before Ferrari had an opportunity to rally the GTO. Ferrari still built 272 examples, though, including some Evoluzione versions for road racing.
This isn’t the only out-of-production Ferrari supercar getting new Pirelli tires. A partnership between the automaker and tire maker has seen Pirelli develop bespoke tires for the Enzo, and has seen Ferrari sign off on use of existing tires from the Pirelli Collezione series for the F40 and F50.