Supercar

Description

Testa-rossa, “Red head”, in significance to the red-painted cam covers that adorn each bank of the F113 flat-12.
The Testarossa was the evolution of the Berlinetta Boxer, the model that had seen Ferrari almost reluctantly enter the world of rear-engined supercars. After Lamborghini had released the Miura to a shocked world, Ferrari had pressed on with the Colombo V12, mounted in the front of the 365 GTB/4 Daytona in 1968 before it conceded to do what was expected of them and move the engine behind the occupants in the Boxer.

Wonderful and defining as the Boxer was, there was huge scope to make the car more usable, more tractable and even faster, and so was born the Tipo F110 Testarossa for 1984.

Addressing two main points; that of the cabin temperature, and the non-existence of any luggage-carrying ability, the Testarossa used fresh thinking, and utilized two smaller water radiators for cooling, mounted amidships and either side of the cabin. The famously large air-intakes and their federal-requirement side-strakes, becoming a signature of the Pininfarina design, were actually what made the car cool inside, as they avoided the requirement to run large diameter cooling pipes through the cabin’s tunnel to route coolant from a front mounted radiator to the engine, and back. From the model’s debut at the ’84 Paris Salon, until the swansong TR512M, over 10000 units were produced, making it one of the most produced Ferraris of all time.

For those who realise that volume production typically points to historical demand, and thus the hallmark of a very good car, then it is no surprise that the Testarossa in all guises was a fast, and easy to use grand tourer that could be used as a gentleman’s express and as a commuter with aplomb.