The three most recognizable letters an automobile has ever sported sum up this ritual: The abbreviation “GTO” stands for “Gran Turismo Omologato,” which is loosely translated from Italian to mean “grand-touring car that has been homologated” (accepted for competition).
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GTO: What Does It Mean?
How Does GTO Work? Italian for “Gran Turismo Omologato” (Grand Touring Homologated in English). While the Pontiac GTO muscle vehicle from the 1960s may be the one most frequently identified with the initials, Enzo Ferrari and his iconic Ferrari 250 GTO are actually the source of the Italian translation and the genesis of the moniker.
Grand Touring, as opposed to one-off racecars, is a road-racing category for permissible touring vehicles having at least limited manufacture and open sales. The process of getting such vehicles homologated involves them meeting the requirements for production and sale as well as the technical requirements. The latter can be a low bar, permitting a select few cars that are virtually track-only and not street-legal.
Between 1962 and 1964, just 36 Ferrari 250 GTOs were produced, yet they were incredibly successful on the racetrack, winning the GT class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in both 1962 and 1963. They are now highly sought-after collector automobiles, with one going for a staggering $48,405,000 at an RM Sotheby’s auction in 2018 and another reputedly fetching $70 million in a private transaction.
Answers
The successful race car, the Ferrari 250 GTO, served as inspiration for the name, which was DeLorean’s invention. It stands for Gran Turismo Omologato, which in Italian means “Grand Tourer Homologated,” or “formally certified for racing in the Grand Tourer class.” Enthusiasts objected to the name because they thought it was almost sacrilegious.
Italian 250 GTO
Gran Turismo Omologato, which translates to “Grand Touring Homologated” in Italian, stands for the displacement in cubic centimeters of each of its cylinders. The number “250” in the name signifies this.
Of the 250 GTOs, only 36 were produced between 1962 and 1964. This contains three 1964 Series II cars and 33 Series I vehicles with bodywork resembling the Ferrari 250 LM from the years 1962 to 1963. In 1964, four earlier Series I vehicles from the years 1962 to 1963 were upgraded with Series II bodywork.
The 250 GTO originally cost $18,000 in the United States, and Enzo Ferrari and his dealer in North America, Luigi Chinetti, personally authorized buyers.
[Reference needed] Since then, this model has grown in popularity among car collectors, and sales have frequently shattered price records. In June 2018, the 1963 250 GTO (chassis 4153GT) that now holds the record for the most expensive Ferrari was sold in a private transaction for $70 million.
The 250 GTO was recognized as the best sports vehicle of all time by Sports Car International in 2004 and ranked ninth on a list of the Top Sports Cars of the 1960s. The 250 GTO was ranked first on a list of the “Greatest Ferraris of All Time” by Motor Trend Classic. It was dubbed the “Hottest Car of All Time” by Popular Mechanics.
01: Oil, gas, and tires
DeLorean chose the name of a Ferrari icon for the naming of his new creation, welcoming some controversy in the process. Contrary to what some men on the street claimed, GTO actually stands for Gran Turismo Omologato, or Grand Touring Homologated in English. The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) regulatory organization, which established the number of vehicles a manufacturer had to produce in order for a model to be accepted, or homologated, for Grand Touring competition, owned the phrase.
Car and Driver stated in 1964 that Ferrari “never made enough GTOs to warrant the moniker anyway.” But Pontiac constructed a speedier one “just to be on the safe side.”
What does GTO mean for Ferrari?
Every time a Ferrari 250 GTO is put up for sale, a big event occurs. It is not only one of the most sought-after sports vehicles in history, but it is also one of the most uncommon. Only 36 were made, all between 1962 and 1964, yet, astonishingly, collectors can identify every single one of them. (Ralph Lauren and tech billionaire Craig McCaw both possess one.) When it sold for $38.1 million in August 2014, a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO set a new auction price record. Another 1962 GTO, the third one ever constructed, will be put up for auction at RM Sotheby’s on August 24. With a presale estimate of $45 million, this Ferrari is likely to smash the auction record in addition to having an illustrious racing history.
The 250 GTO, the last edition of Ferrari’s 250 model, was designed for racing but also served as a road vehicle. GTO stands for Gran Turismo Omologato, meaning Grand Touring Homologated. The body, which was effectively a 250 Testa Rossa, was powered by a 300 horsepower, 3-liter V12 engine. Each owner of such a beauty received the personal endorsement of Enzo Ferrari, who set the price for such a beauty at $18,000 (about $150,000 today).
1962 250 GTO was a steal at $5,400 when it was sold privately, decades before it was deemed a classic.
The Greatest Barn Find: Chassis 3987 spent 15 years rotting in a field before it was refurbished and sold in 1986 for $1 million.
A 1962 250 GTO that had rusted in a field for 15 years before being repaired was purchased by collector Frank Gallogly for a then-record $1 million a year after Ralph Lauren paid $650,000 for chassis 3987 and Ferrari fever was in full swing. He sold it for $4.2 million two years later.
Cellphone pioneer Craig McCaw purchased a 1962 250 GTO that had formerly belonged to racing icon Stirling Moss in a $35 million private deal.
Record Holder, Part 1: Will the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO’s auction sale price be surpassed in… [+] August?
A 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO earned a record price at Bonhams’ annual Quail Lodge auction when it sold to Carlos Monteverde, the son of billionaire Brazilian philanthropist Lily Safra, for $38.1 million.
Record Holder, Part 2: The CEO of WeatherTech reportedly paid $70 million for this 1963 Ferrari.
David MacNeil, the founder and CEO of WeatherTech, purchased a 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO privately for an estimated $70 million (the equivalent of about a million car mats).
The New Prize: Will this 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO surpass all previous auction records for a vehicle?
After a successful racing career, Gianni Bulgari purchased the 1962 250 GTO chassis 3413 in 1963. The Ferrari was bought by billionaire Sir Anthony Bamford six years (and a few owners) later, and after a few more owners, Greg Whitten, a former Microsoft chief software architect, bought it in 2000 for $7 million. The car is currently being offered for sale at RM Sotheby’s, where it is anticipated to break auction records. Whitten justifies his choice to sell by saying, “I’ve had the GTO for a long time.” “I want to buy additional cars as well.”
What makes the Ferrari 250 GTO unique?
The Ferrari 250 GTO was able to reach an extraordinary top speed of 170 miles per hour because to its fantastic V12 engine and aerodynamic body design. One of the most storied engine combinations in a car is this one because it has larger valves and dry-sump lubrication.
Additionally, the engine had a twin overhead camshaft, six twin-choke Weber carburetors, and wet cast-iron cylinder liners. A five-speed all-synchronized transmission was also added to the Ferrari. When you put it all together, you get a 2,953cc masterpiece that had 300 horsepower.
The Ferrari 250 GTO won the GT World Championships in 1962, 1963, and 1964 using this engine and architecture. It also won the Targa Florio, Sebring 12-hour, Le Mans, and Spa 1000km.
The Ferrari won more than 300 races across the world when it was on the track, taking first place in its class. These accomplishments rank among the best wins for a road car, or any car for that matter. Legendary statistics back this up.
Only three 4.0L with 3967cc engine GTOs were produced in 1964. At 7500 rpm, the engine was producing 390 horsepower.
This was in fact Ferrari’s last excellent front-engine GT car to be produced.
What does “GTO” stand for in the acronym?
The three most recognizable letters an automobile has ever sported sum up this ritual: “GTO” stands for “Gran Turismo Omologato,” which is loosely translated from Italian to indicate a grand-touring car that has been homologated (accepted for competition).
How many Ferrari 250 GTOs exist in existence today?
Despite the widespread belief that all 36 of the 250 GTOs are still in existence today, it was just the third 250 GTO to ever roll off the Maranello assembly line. Each street-legal racer rolled out of the Italian factory with a 3.0-liter V12 engine that is rated at 300 horsepower.
What exactly does GTX mean?
Giga Texel Shader eXtreme, or GTX, is a subbrand of Nvidia’s GeForce line of graphics cards. 2008 saw the release of series 200, sometimes known as Tesla. The GTX 260 and more costly GTX 280 were the first items in this series. Since the debut of these cards, Nvidia GPUs have utilized a naming strategy with GTX/GT as a prefix followed by their model number. The introduction of these cards also had an impact on the naming method. Nvidia updated the microarchitecture on which its cards are built with every other significant release in the series, for example, series 200 and 300 were based on Tesla architecture, series 400 and 500 were based on Fermi architecture, and so on. The most recent GTX series 16 includes the GTX 1650, 1660, 1660Ti, and Super variants. These were released in 2019 and are based on Turing architecture.
What does GTR denote in automobiles?
See Nissan Skyline GT-R for information on the GT-previous R’s iterations. See Nissan GT-R LM Nismo for information on the prototype racing vehicle bearing the Nissan GT-R name.
Nissan’s high-performance sports car and grand tourer, the Nissan GT-R (Japanese: Ri Chan GT-R, Nissan GT-R), was introduced in 2007. It is the replacement for the high-performance Nissan Skyline version known as the Skyline GT-R. Despite being the sixth-generation GT-R model, this car is no longer in the Nissan Skyline model portfolio because the term is now only used for Nissan’s luxury-sport cars. The Nissan PM platform, which was designed particularly for the GT-R and is an improved version of the Nissan FM platform used in the Nissan Skyline luxury vehicle and the Nissan Z sports car, is the foundation on which the GT-R is constructed. Gran Turismo-Racing, the acronym for which was coined from the Skyline GT-R, is what GT-R stands for.
Because the GT-R will be sold all over the world, as opposed to its predecessors, which were solely available in Japan, then-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn decided that the GT-R would become a global emblem for the Nissan brand.
Along with the PM platform and the specially developed VR38DETT engine, the production version of the GT-R debuted at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show also had a number of additional cutting-edge innovations. Steel, aluminum, and premium materials like carbon fiber make up the body as a whole. Due to newer legal changes, the GT-R has been withdrawn in the European and Australian markets after 15 years of manufacturing.
Which GTO is the most rare?
1 Pontiac GTO from 1969 The 1969 Pontiac GTO Judge convertible is the most costly and rarest of all Pontiac GTO vehicles. The 1969 Pontiac GTO Judge convertible was only produced in 108 units, and the “Judge” trim was dropped in 1971.
When was the GTO the fastest?
The fifth-generation GTO was going to come in restricted quantities, according to GM. The 2006 GTO was introduced as a result of the realization that the Morano, on which the fifth generation was based, was nearing the end of its lifespan and that the cost of importing the vehicle posed a danger to sales.
This has a 6.0-liter (368 ci) LS2 V8 engine, which makes it extremely similar to the 2005 GTO. The 2006 GTO was soon recognized as the quickest GTO ever sold in the US as it hit the market. The vehicle’s 6.0-liter V8 engine was capable of producing an astounding 400 HP.
How come GTO is named Goat?
GOAT The GTO did acquire a number of nick names throughout time. A lot of them, such “The Tiger,” “The Great One,” and “The Humbler,” were made up by Jim Wangers and his group of advertising copywriters, who were in charge of marketing the muscle car. The Great One debuted in 1967 after the Tiger campaign had started in 1964. The Humbler replica went on sale in 1970. Somewhere along the line, the street guys started referring to GTOs as “goats.” However, it wasn’t a reference to the “Greatest of All Time”; rather, it was an affectionate phrase and a letter play. By 1969, it even made an appearance in a highly contentious GTO commercial supported by DeLorean and Wangers.