Ferrari Testarossa: let's check out this classic flat 12 - sports cars
If you browse the last 105 EVO episodes, you will not find any evidence Ferrari Testarossa... I know that at this moment many of you have already jumped on the couch, bed, or wherever you usually read magazines, ready to check if I am telling the truth. There has never been a Testarossa test on EVO: tested.
At first, this seems like an unforgivable omission, because if we rank the most popular cars on wall posters, the Testarossa comes in second after Countach... He is an icon: there is no doubt about that. So why didn't we at EVO ever talk about this? Well, because this magazine is about the emotions of driving, and the Testarossa dynamically has a bad reputation. In a column he wrote many years ago on EVO UK, Gordon Murray called it “terrible,” and if you Google “handling Testarossa,” you find that sites and forums don't respond well to it.
But if you see her there, on the road, ready to bite the asphalt, you will not be able to believe what they say bad about her. No wonder he was also the protagonist of the legendary video game. Sega Out Run (although, oddly enough, it was a convertible, but the only Spider Testarossa never produced - in gray - owned by Gianni Agnelli). This absolute icon cannot fail to appear on the pages of EVO. That's why we're running for cover today: we'll finally take the lead and find out if his bad dynamic reputation is deserved or, almost thirty years after his debut at the 1984 Paris Motor Show, we should all apologize to him. We learn with the help of the roads of Wales and the Llandow track.
The car you see on these pages belongs to Peter Ditch: it has been with him for ten years now, and he has no intention of selling it. The car was produced in 1986 and you immediately understand that this is one of the first copies, just look at the ssingle rearview mirror, I also circles betray their age: the most recent have circles with five cubes instead of one nut. Peter bought it in Switzerland and used it as an everyday car several times. Several non-standard modifications were made to it, including a painted lower part (originally black), but it gives it a lot (not in vain the latest version 512 TR had this modification as standard).
Looking under the rear panel, you will see that not only redheads of cylinders who gave the car their name, but also a huge Suction system GruppeM in carbonwhich, according to Peter, adds nothing to the show, but is a pleasure to watch. Another non-standard part of the engine compartment is gold leaf (like on McLaren F1), which Peter acquired through the Formula 1 team he was working on at the time.
Our test begins in front of the Premier Inn on the M4 (photographer Dean Smith and I have just arrived, traveling at night, from Wales, where we took part in testing. spider you see on the same question). Having found to process from the door hidden under the first air intake on the side, I hop into the passenger seat to pull over the hills.
The first thing that strikes me is the idea space inside the car. There dashboard in skin the black color against the windshield gives a feeling of spaciousness, and visibility is also excellent. Peter turns the key, and immediately - without the usual process we're now used to with supercars - 12 hp. and 390 Nm, even 490, wake up, revealing to everyone within a radius of kilometers the latest modification created by Peter: Larini exhaust.
After the first exhaust concert on the la motorway Testarossa it becomes more civilized, quickly but relaxedly settles into a rather restrained regime. When leaving the multi-lane M4, in the narrow streets of the villages, I start to worry about when it is my turn to go: those hand yellow will suddenly appear very large.
“You just have to remember that the back is wider than the front,” Peter says. "Otherwise very easy to drive."
I have never seen a more beautiful day. There is no cloud in the sky and there is a light breeze that allows you to cook well without even realizing it. Parked on the side of the road, viewed from behind, with its Pininfarina lines, Testarossa it's incredible. The black grille extending towards the rear makes it even wider, even if it's not just an impression: The 1.976 mm Testarossa surpasses any others. Ferrari current.
From other angles it is less exciting: the only mirror is interesting, but also strange, and the only air intake (which serves to cool the oil) under the headlight on the same side emphasizes the visual imbalance. From Profile You also notice the huge bonnet protrusion, but when Peter takes me for a walk up the hills, those imbalances melt away like snow in the sun. As he walks through the uneven cliffs and grass of this Welsh landscape, the Testarossa looks as impressive as it did thirty years ago.
It's finally my turn to lead. When I open Receptionist I find the entrance is not entirely straightforward. When the sun rises in the sky, the temperaturecockpit in black leather, it grows slowly and relentlessly, but luckily with this elongated headrest and comfortable seat providing support, at least the seat is comfortable.
Despite the fact that there is much more room than on the Countach, the driver's position is just as odd, with pedals well spaced but misaligned, and steering wheel leaned back. Beautiful lever Speed the first one on the left is at hand, and the black pen (slightly smaller than a golf ball) fits perfectly in the palm of your hand.
When the key is turned engine lights up with hopeful readiness. With all this couple, there is almost no need to press the accelerator, just raise the speed just above the minimum and release the clutch to the attachment point to start. IN steering without the servo at maneuvering speed, it's oddly heavy, but once you increase the pace it becomes lighter to the point where you doubt there's power steering after all. The crown is thin, with a rounded back and a flat front, which provides an ideal grip.
Some open-body Maranello gearboxes have a slightly stiff second gearbox, but Peter's car doesn't have this problem. Thus, the third, fourth and fifth are very mobile. The visibility is excellent (even if you can't see the wonderful nose stretching in front from the driver's seat), and the wider rear is clearly visible (Peter warned me). I understand why, after 1986, Maranello decided to add a second mirror: it feels like something is missing. From time to time I have to expand to the right until I feel under bus reflectors on the center line to understand where I am on the road. After the width of the car, I also have to get used to driving it, because while it is quite soft overall, it has good control over pits and bumps.
The highlight of the show is the engine.
He's just great: so docile, he has a lot of traction and acceleration that gradually increases to 6.500 rpm. When cornering, it is the twelve-cylinder engine that determines the Ferrari's behavior. Testarossa... Small circles da 16 inchesshod in 50-shoulder tires do the trick, but this is where you first truly feel the weight of these 12 cylinders which wobble slightly and affect the balance of the car section behind your shoulders. This is an unforgettable experience.
The problem is that this Colombo flat 12 is longitudinal (it is not a boxer because the cylinders do not have separate connecting rod heads and so technically it is V12 at an angle 180 degrees) is installed in the center together with the gearbox and differential and creates a hippo-like center of gravity on a swing in a canary cage. The best thing to do behind the wheel is to relax, not go too far on the gas and enjoy the spectacle of the Testarossa.
After all, this is one of the best places to stay.
At the traffic lights on the road to Llandow its sound mumbling is at least similar to the sound of Can-Am in the pits at Goodwood. At some point, I made the mistake of lowering the window in the tunnel. With left-hand traffic, I am so tied to the tunnel wall that the sound echoing off the walls sweeps over me like a hurricane. We're close to breaking my eardrums. I've heard about noisy cars in my work, but none of the road cars come close to the brutality of this Testarossa. My ears are still buzzing when we stop at Llandow's pen.
“I heard you coming,” the owner of the track tells us, confirming the power of Red's sound. Llandow is a small but very fast circuit, the most characteristic part of which are two fast right turns leading to the pit stops and the second straight. You can't make big numbers here, but it's still better than the road to checkappeal of Testarossa... I don’t remember the last time I exercised such caution, exploring the limits of the car, gradually increasing the pressure on the tires and chassis, round and round. In the beginning, the front pushes harder than I expected, and the front and rear have much more grip than expected, but then I realize that I am sipping power in corners for fear of losing control.
As the speed increases, the longest and fastest turns are the hardest and most daunting. Load the front, then open the throttle early and leave the corner when the car goes from slight understeer to minimum. oversteer due to the fact that you are being pushed by the rear weight. IN steering it is now heavier because the wheels are heavier, and even if they are not completely numb, the combination of high shoulder and noticeable roll this greatly reduces the communication between you and the dear one.
I brakes they weren't meant for a track, so you need to slow down in time and gradually, or the fade out will soon take over and ruin the party. Hard and late braking is the best way to take the car out, but now that I think about it, it's not always a bad thing on the track... Fortunately, the Llandow is flatter than the Red engine, because I don't want to learn how to do it. This will require the Ferrari to go full throttle on an uphill curve or a bump. If you turn too fast and then take your foot off the gas pedal, you should be in good control, because with such a high center of gravity and set back, the car tends to swing like a pendulum as weight is transferred to the already loaded outer rear wheel.
There are only two things preventing you from hitting the wall: atmospheric engine which makes delivery linear and manageable, and the quantity opposition... When the car stops wobbling and oversteer begins, you must react quickly to prevent the crossbeam and anticipate when the car regains traction by straightening the steering wheel before you find yourself drifting on the other side. If you can, you feel like a wizard from the steering wheel, but also someone who was close to dying of a heart attack: maybe that's why you don't see many photos Testarossa in a skid.
Back at the pens, I can't help but stay a few minutes admiring this yellow beast before Peter takes it back. After driving it all day, I finally became a fan of her (when I was little, my true legend Maranello was the 288 GTO), and now I'm trying to find her a place in the parking lot of my dreams.
I understand why it sold so well in America, and this is not an insult. There Testarossa does not try to be both a beast of a track day and a car to devour continents like the F12 wants, because even if it's fun and difficult to tame on the track, it is, in fact, a road intended for long journeys and beautiful streets. His appeal it's intimidating, no doubt about it, but it definitely deserves a place on the EVO pages.
