Toussus-le-Noble airport, 5 degrees.
The cold wind glides on scarlet red wings and mingles with the husky sound of a 12 cylinders naturally aspirated, based on flawless slow motion.
And yet, no Mustang P51 or Spitfire fighters in the area.
The beautiful mechanics that patiently rise in temperature before our eyes fall into another category.
La Testarossa has barely woken up, but already, a form of eagerness to start moving is clearly perceptible
Welcome to The Ferrari myth that we are going to share with you through this test, the complete video of which you can also discover below.
Presented in October 1984 at the Paris Salon where it caused a sensation, The Ferrari Testarossa is now a “classic”. It is clear that despite its age, it is still a very impressive car. Even compared to today's sports car standards, it is still exceptionally broad.
Very low and shorter than imagined, an unusual ratio of proportions and a spectacular effect emerge, further accentuated by The huge air intakes that scar the sides.
However, this unique appearance is not the result of a simple search for style, far from it.
The design of the Testarossa was entirely dictated by very extensive aerodynamic research and innovative technical provisions, the result of joint work engineers from Ferrari and coachbuilder Pininfarina.
Their aim was tooptimize balance and stability of the new model with as a corollary, a significantly improved comfort.
Traditionally, the cooling radiator was positioned at the front of cars. This arrangement will remain the rule for a long time when the engine had already migrated to the rear of the most innovative racing cars and road sports cars. We find this principle on the Ferrari BB (365 GT4 BB, 512 BB and BBi) which precede the Testarossa and who, by the way, were the first mid-engined 12-cylinder on-road Ferraris.
This design has several flaws in use, even if we are talking about a sports car.
The space under the hood at the front is completely obstructed by the water and air conditioning radiators and their electric fans. Setting up a proper luggage compartment is impossible. In addition to traveling light, it is difficult to achieve a pleasant temperature in the cabin in all seasons. In fact, the radiator at the front and the pipes that join the engine at the rear along the cockpit disperse their calories along the way and particularly in summer.
Les engineers from Maranello solved these problems by adopting a solution designed for racing (Ferrari 312 PB sport-proto 1971) by moving the radiators to the rear. Positioned just in front of the rear wheels and on either side of the engine, all the space under the front hood is freed up.
These are the trunk and thermal comfort issues resolved, but, you will tell me, it is very unlikely that this solution was developed for reasons of comfort on a race car!
Indeed, the objective for the 312 PB was to refocus the masses.
Quick explanation: for a sports car, let alone a racing car, you improve handling as well as stability by moving all the heavy components between the front and rear axles, thus by eliminating the cantilever masses.
La Testarossa get the same benefits. With one stone, two shots!
However, it will not have escaped you that The 12-cylinder 180° (flat) of the Testarossa is already very large! With the radiators on each side, you get an unusual width of the entire rear part of the car.
That's when aerodynamicists take over to make the most of this situation.
At the turn of the 70s and 80s, aerodynamic studies progressed rapidly.
The objectives concerning the Testarossa were to get a good air penetration coefficient (Cx=0.36) and perfect natural stability at very high speeds, of the order of 300 km/h, what the car would be capable of.
For this last point, it is necessary to try to cancel the lift, in order to keep the car on the ground and avoid the effect of load shedding at high speed, a major concern of the first very fast sports cars.
By designing a cabin set back from the sides and narrower than the car, the engineers took advantage of the offset of the rear wings to give them An inverted airplane wing profile. The opposite effect to that sought with an airplane is thus obtained and the car is pressed to the ground, a guarantee of the desired stability, without the use of any aileron.
As is the rule at Ferrari, these innovations are strongly imbued with the heritage and experience of racing. The fact that Pininfarina being equipped with a wind tunnel (wind tunnel) should not be overlooked in the fact that this study could be carried out successfully and successfully.
The style of the Ferrari Testarossa was thus strongly determined by the solutions and technical developments defined during its study, solutions having greatly influenced this spectacular result.
The huge lateral air intakes are necessary for the supply of fresh air required by the radiators to cool the mechanics.
The full-width rear grills and on the engine cover remove heat.
The new arrangement of the radiators in the sidewalls improves comfort as well as cooling efficiency while freeing up the space needed at the front for a large luggage compartment (which was seriously lacking in the previous generation of the 365 and 512 BBs).
We also note that the Testarossa offers easy on-board access and a fairly satisfactory visibility, even towards the rear, observations that are quite rare in practice with mid-engine cars.
However, before that, you have to fumble to find the door opening mechanism elegantly hidden in the side air intake.
We decided to be two during these tests in order to sharing our impressions on the spot by exchanging seats.
My passenger is immediately surprised by The space on board, the comfort of the seat, the luminosity from the cabin (well helped in today's copy by the omnipresent light leather, right up to the headliner) and the general softness of operation.
Indeed, here, there are no escapements or mechanical whirring noises as modern sports cars serve us. Despite the presence of a complete stainless steel pot slightly louder than the original one, the volume remains relatively measured, but still quite full.
In the end, it's more the side asserted As much What unexpected Of a character of Grand GT that reveals itself from the first turns of the wheel.
The engine is certainly not absent from the soundtrack (we are still driven by a 5-liter 380-horsepower 12-cylinder engine on this final version that is already catalyzed) but it knows how to remain discreet at the legal pace, which we will be content with, by the way.
Les Suspensions are surprisingly thoughtful for such a fast car, especially compared to current standards, and speed bumps are easy enough if you want to remember the presence of the very long front overhang, otherwise, it will loudly remind you of your good memory!
La finishing is much better than what bad tongues like to repeat. As has been said, leather is omnipresent and beautifully made. The impeccable, although cream-colored, of our copy attests to the fact that it is 32 years old and 64,000 km old.
The layouts and various facilities are astonishing and sometimes amusing as their style and arrangements reflect an originality or personality that differs from the classicism of contemporary Germanic productions.
It is so with the Battery of strange commands populating the center console, linked to the warming And at the airconditioning automatic, fog light switches on the roof console or even the huge electrically opening glove box (yes, yes! ) and the no less huge vanity mirror that is hidden there and that is deployed thanks to a clever system of articulation!
Only ashtrays made of ugly hard plastic, of which there are two and certainly illuminated, are terrible. As a result, the aerators, perhaps of Alfa origin, manage to go unnoticed.
The first surprise as a passenger comes from the discovery of'A rather civilized car, as comfortable as it is pleasant from this place.
The hands-on experience is an opportunity to recall that this Ferrari was studied and designed over 40 years ago and that it has no power steering, no ABS, no traction control, in short, no driving assistance!
On the other hand, to pass the engine torque, which we will see is very substantial, the clutch is of the dual-disc type. The pedal is not awfully hard like on some older Ferraris, but the friction point of this clutch is not easy to identify. The risk is either to stall if you rush, or to shorten his hard life if you delay in letting him go.
Out of respect for the latter, you must therefore apply a little effort and avoid unnecessary dragster starts.
As soon as the Testarossa is in motion, the first impressions contradict its reputation as a truck and the car turns out very easy to steer, with one hand, from the lowest paces.
Second, it is the incredible flexibility of this fantastic engine that is surprising.
The huge torque, available even at very low rpm, guarantees that you can restart without having to downshift, regardless of the gear ratio engaged.
In 4th, at 1000 rpm or less than 40 km/h, the Testarossa accelerates without hiccups or hesitation and pushes harder and harder, continuously, giving the impression that it will never stop (which would almost be true on the circuit since the 4th exceeds 220 km/h).
The box did not offer the softest control available at the time, but, once at temperature, a precise and decisive gesture made it possible to engage in relationships without difficulty with the satisfaction of a job well done, the reward coming from the small metallic chimes emitted by the lever on the traditional aluminum grill. A well-adjusted box order is imperative on the Testarossa.
Les downshifters in sustained driving require a bit more expertise in the sense that the double-clutch is highly recommended in order to relieve the synchros and not to fatigue the gearbox and transmissions unnecessarily, we will be grateful if you specify the costs of a repair!
Les brakes respond naturally with good bite and uncritical power for road use, although the pedal could be more pleasant to attack (too much dead stroke). However, it is known that their endurance under intensive use is not their main quality.
Handling and the overall behavior of this Ferrari is very convincing And even very natural. Despite the impressive width that might lead to fear a random grip, this is not the case and Samuel handles the Testa as if he had always driven it, noting that the two large mirrors are still very useful to check that the rear view fits!
Each time, you never get tired of the pleasure provided by this push on all gears, as if a big hand were catching your back, propelling you forward in a firm and continuous manner, but without excessive brutality. The incomparable pleasure of large naturally aspirated engines!
Under the outside a bit extravagant, she turns out to be the perfect summary of the qualities expected of a big GT at the time of its conception, combining real comfort, very high performances and assertive sporting character to some practical aspects in addition to relative ease of use. All characteristics that very few cars, if any, met in this category at the time of its release.
This great success will be confirmed by an astonishing commercial success, the Testarossa being the first 12-cylinder Ferrari to reach this level of production. It will in fact be sold 7,177 copies in just 7 years (not including the 512 TR and 512 M evolutions) against 2,323 BB all versions combined in more than 10 years.
The Porsche 911 is the archetype of the sports car and its 60-year history is a novel. The first serial 911 left the assembly line in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen on September 14, 1964. It is an entirely new car, propelled by a new 6-cylinder flat 6-cylinder air-cooled by air, with dry sump lubrication, of 2 liters and 130 hp allowing 210 km/h at a peak. It does not use any elements from its big sister, the 356. The 911 Turbo series, type 930, was presented at the 1974 Paris Motor Show...
The body of the 144, extended by ten centimeters with a redesigned front and a new in-line 6-cylinder engine: this is how, in 1968, Volvo created its first post-war grand tourer.
So beautiful, to the point of being considered a milestone in automotive design, and to have integrated the collections of one of the largest museums of contemporary art in the world. So daring, that Enzo Ferrari himself, although usually so quiet, would have made a rave comment about it when it was released. So desirable, that those who did not have the chance to drive it invent faults. So rare, and yet 77,000 copies were produced in its various versions.
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