The world’s car manufacturers have created many vehicles that can be labeled as icons. Let’s look at the most significant ones.
Many motoring fans know for sure that the name Testarossa comes from the workshop of the famous Ferrari brand. This year, the whole world is celebrating its 40th anniversary. It was 1984 when this wonderful stylistic work appeared at the October Paris Motor Show. It became the successor to the 512 Bbi (the letter i means that, compared to the 512 BB, this version received Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection instead of carburetors).
Pininfarina Footprint
The iconic sports car was created in the Pininfarina stylistic studio. Its name coincided with the red color of the cylinder heads (Testa Rossa – redhead). The design was signed by Leonardo Fioravanti, Ian Cameron, Guido Campoli, Emmanuele Nicosia, and Diego Ottina. Emmanuele Nicosia was the greatest contributor to the timeless shapes. The team leader was Leonardo Fioravanti. Pietro Camardella worked on the design of the 1991 Ferrari 512 TR. The shapes of the Testarossa were inspired by F1 cars, which were referred to as “wing-car”. This technique was later banned in F1. Pininfarina stylists breathed an attractive and timeless design into the car, the side suction holes were larger than on the predecessor, thus the side ribbing was also extended, which is the most striking stylistic element of the Testarossa.
Twelve-cylinder Heart
The Ferrari Testarossa model had a central-mounted 4.9 V12 engine, it delivered the maximum power of 287 kW/390 hp/6300 rpm to the rear wheels through a five-speed manual transmission. The maximum torque was 490 Nm/4500 rpm. The sports car mastered acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.3 seconds and reached a maximum speed of 290 km/h. The two-seat GT was 4485 mm long, 1976 mm wide and 1130 mm high, the wheelbase was 2550 mm. Interestingly, the track width at the front (1518 mm) was significantly different from the track width at the rear (1660 mm). The chassis had a double trapezoidal suspension on all wheels, the sixteen-inch wheels were fitted with 225/40 VR16 tires at the front and 255/50 VR16 tires at the rear. Deceleration was ensured by brake discs with a 309 mm diameter at the front and 310 mm at the rear. This edition contained 7177 copies.
Testarossa underwent evolutionary upgrades in 1991 (model 512 TR – abbreviation of Testarossa, the number of units produced reached 2261) and 1994 (model F512 M – Modificata, production reached only 501 units). One of the most charismatic sports models was discontinued in 1996, a total of 9939 units were produced between 1984 and 1996.
Testarossa played a significant role in the successful detective TV series Miami Vice. The white-painted car was used by Sonny Crockett (played by actor Don Johnson) in the fight against crime. This role also contributed to the undying fame of the “redhead” in automotive history.
Text: Peter Stano, photo: Ferrari
