Testarossa...what comes to mind
when you see or hear that word? Some might think of a beautiful
woman, or perhaps the scream of the monstrous V-12, one-time champion
Italian racecar of the late 50s. Some might think of Don Johnson
clad in pastel T-shirts and white sport jackets rocketing down
Miami highways in pursuit of drug cartel members. To others it
might invoke thoughts of childhood dreams of the unattainable
supercar...with those huge air intakes, those horizontal lines
that accentuate it's wide stance and crisp brutish demeanor. That
HUGE Flat twelve cylinder engine sucking air and putting power
down right behind your head in a way that can only be experienced
to truly be appreciated. Power on loan from God; as some might
describe it. Then again...you may think of it as the one car that
truly broke with tradition and catapulted Ferrari into that pseudo
sports car wonderland of the 80's. Meaning you may hate it. What
ever that word makes you think of it is undeniably something that
is remembered, whether you like the car or not.
For me though,
that word...Testarossa brings thoughts of a big Red, Powerful,
unattainable, expensive, beast of a machine that was much
faster than most other road cars of it's day. In the mid 80's
when the Testarossa was new, it was something refreshing and
outlandishly styled. Something, bold...and boy did it look
fast and mean.
I didn't fall in love with it right
away as many others, for my idea of the traditional Ferrari was
that tight, small, dart of a car the 308. Magnum P.I. was the
one that put most kids of the 80's into a spin over the machines
from Maranello. And even on Miami Vice we were used to Sonny Crocket
driving that beautiful black Daytona Spyder. When all of a sudden
I watched the show one weekend and Sonny had a new pony in his
stable. Something called a Testarossa. For those who remember
the episode that introduced the car you will recall Crocket spouting
off specs of the car to Tubbs as they walked around the White
"Red Head". Just the enthusiasm alone of Crocket was enough to
get you wondering just what this thing could do...and they sure
showed you. I must have watched countless episodes just waiting
for another glimpse of the big, low-slung Italian race machine.
I grew to love that car, and fantasized about it as a kid even
more so than the ever-popular Lamborghini Countach. BUT there
was just something that didn't quite fit...when I learned that
the word Testarossa meant. "Red Head". I was wondering why the
car on the TV that I saw so much wasn't Red. Every other Ferrari
I had seen up to that point had been red. What was going on? Needless
to say those posters that everyone remembers quite well started
popping up. Under the catch phrases "Reasons to Stay in school",
"Choices" or some other corny blurb to make you want to go to
school and be the best little boy possible, was that new crazy
looking machine in the right color. RED. The seed was planted
and ever since the mid 80's I have wanted and always considered
the Ferrari Testarossa a car that dreams are made of.
Now lets get away from the boyhood
fantasy and talk about the reality. The Ferrari Testarossa was
developed as a replacement to the Berlinetta Boxer or 512bbi,
Ferrari's mid engine 12-cylinder super car of the late 70's and
early 80's. The TR was wider, more comfortable, easier to drive,
and more powerful than it's predecessor making it the ultimate
horse in the stable.
380 bhp at 5750
RPM*, 354 ft-lbs of torque*, 4 valves per cylinder, 0-60MPH
in 5.7 seconds*, top speed in excess of 170 MPH, and a quarter
mile time of 13.8 seconds* made for one hell of a road car.
This was something that made hair stand on end and smiles
to grow from ear to ear.
After 15 years and some months
after those initial Miami Vice episodes I finally got behind the
wheel. I've driven two to date, and both were quite different
experiences. The first TR I drove was a 1986, that was in fair
physical shape. The exterior was presentable but the interior
was ripped apart and dirty. I won't go into too many details on
that car, but I wanted to mention it for comparison between running
changes of the cars and common quirks that are associated with
the Ferrari Testarossa. The 1986 TR was almost identical to that
of the first year of production. The trademark side mirror was
still mounted high on the A Pillar and was probably one of the
most striking, yet annoying attributes of the car. The mirrors
position gave a good view of the car to the left of you and instead
of looking at their tires you might actually be able to see the
driver gawking at your car. In contrast, any other time you were
not using that mirror it became a hazard and a reason for neck
massages every other day. I found myself spending more time than
usual at intersections trying to look under, over, and around
that thing than I did using it. Also in the early model years
of the Testarossa there is another rather famous quirk which I
was privilaged to experience. The infamous 1-3 shift. This is
supposedly due to the gearbox not reaching normal operating temperatures
or lubricant flow and you not being able to select second gear
without grinding the heck out of the gear. Personally I tend to
think that although it may be a common trait in the older Ferraris,
this one was probably more due to it being under-maintained. There
was plenty of blue smoke to choke all life in a 40-foot radius
coming from the rear, and the brakes squealed horribly. I was
getting very disappointed in my first Testarossa experience until
I was instructed to stand on the gas pedal as soon as I felt the
transmission warm up and I could go through all the gears.
