Antonio Silva
It's 16:30 p.m. on an autumn afternoon in 1985, in a central Madrid street. A 7-8 year old boy, with his nose glued to a shop window, looks at a spectacular red car on the other side; while the glass is clouding little by little, absorbed with what he sees, he feels his father tug at him. He does not want to move and looks at him with a puzzled face, while listening as someone says to them: "Come in, let the kid see you."
In a few seconds the boy is up in the beautiful cream-colored leather seat of a Ferrari. It's a Testarossa, the commercial tells him. Scrutinize the inner and outer lines; He doesn't understand mechanics, or aerodynamics, or anything like that, but he knows that he likes what he sees. He loves: "When I grow up I want one dad." His father sees that car as a spaceship, something totally unattainable, and he answers by staring into his eyes: "You will have to study a lot, son."
This story is 100% true, and the current owner of the Testarossa is that child who, with a little luck and a lot of effort, has been allowed to buy the red sports car that he dreamed of almost every day. There are events that mark us in life and I can assure you, since I have known the owner for 37 years, that this was burned into his CPU.
The iconic gills
Today, almost 30 years after the cathartic visit to the dealership, I go down to the garage and contemplate the beautiful side image of the car. It remains unmistakable, with that wedge line by Pininfarina. Like its predecessor, it does not have ailerons either, but rather a studied aerodynamic line in the wind tunnel, with a flat floor that gives it very high stability and grip at high speeds. In this 1991 unit, the rear view mirrors are already on both sides and are located at the usual height of the bodywork. On the other hand, the 5-spoke wheels are joined by 5 nuts, while in the first series they were fastened with a central nut.
The side gills on the doors, that continue to the rear fins, marked an era. A sign of design typical of the 80s, which many - even Ferrari itself with the later and smaller 348 - would imitate. They are not only an aesthetic element, but they correspond to the air inlets of the two large rear side radiators of the V12. This change of location with respect to the 512 BB was motivated by one of the main complaints of the owners of the latter, which was none other than the excessive heat that was concentrated in the cabin due to the passage of the cooling ducts towards the radiator only one located at the front.
I enter with relative simplicity through a large door. The interior is spacious, the driving position has improved a lot; The car is wider and it shows, the seat is comfortable, with a multitude of possible settings, although the buttons are complicated to operate because they are located on the left side, next to the handbrake. Personally, I find the BB seats much nicer, although as I said these are more spacious and comfortable.
Symphony based on multivalves
I turn on the ignition and hear the electronic check beep for the status of both cylinder banks. I wait a couple of seconds for it to turn off and turn the key; immediately, there is a tremendous roar, it starts the massive 4,9L engine It does so in a totally stable way, a little revved at 1.100 rpm for the first 5-10 seconds until the electronic brain of the beast decides to place it at a normal idle. wow, Can't get used to what it sounds like when idling it makes your hair stand on end.
This engine is a clear evolution of its predecessor. Initially, Ferrari incorporated a double injection type K-Jetronic to the 512 BB, making the car extremely reliable and making the frequent adjustments required by triple carburettors no longer necessary. The first Testarossa benefited from this improvement, redesigning the Italian brand completely the cylinder heads that would become multivalves (4 per cylinder) and with the rocker covers painted red - hence the Testa-Rossa or red head-, as in its predecessor, the mythical 250 Testarossa from the 50s. Little by little, the low response was improved, which was already good initially, also lowering consumption and making the V12 less polluting. For this reason, the new mechanical and electronic modifications that it mounts in its last series, on which we carried out the test, were not shown as an increase in power but as a refinement of the engine.
These were carried out in 1987, although the declared power did not change from 84 to 91. The 390 horses are enough to make the 0-100 in 5 seconds, and also to reach a top speed of 290 km / h. In order to transmit the cavalry and the enormous torque available to the ground, Ferrari relied on very wide 225 and 255 tires on a 16 ″ rim. The scheme of the multitubular frame is very similar to that of the BB; Likewise, the damping is very similar, highlighting this time the double nose rear shock absorbers.
Mirror Mirror…
As the huge mechanic warms up, I contemplate the care within. A lot of good skin, everything fits incredibly well, the finish is fantastic for a sports car and it only looks ugly, as in the case of the BB, due to some clearly improvable quality plastics. The central instrumentation, located behind the leather-wrapped three-spoke steering wheel, has a speedometer on the left and an Rpm indicator on the right, leaving the important things at the center: oil pressure and water temperature. Additionally, the central console contains the oil, fuel, clock and mileage indicators, as well as the fully electronic air conditioning controls.
The elegant interior set is surprising, subtracting points from the sportiness expressed externally. Details such as the electric opening glove compartment, with light and vanity-type mirror ... are not exactly the latest in a sports car. Also surprising are the large front boot, more than enough for a couple, and the recesses behind the seats for luggage, with leather fastening straps included.
I step on the hard clutch, somewhat harder than the one on the BB, I put in first and go up the garage ramp almost without accelerating. Already in the street, I am concatenating traffic lights and breaking the odd neck - in a figurative sense, of course. Almost everyone recognizes it even really young kids of 13 or 14 who tell their parents "Dad look, a Testa." Without a doubt it marked an era, and especially a couple of generations; Thus, those of us who today are between the ages of 35-45, I would say that even up to 50, we immediately identify him as an icon of youth. With the temperature gauge exceeding 70 degrees, I decide to accelerate a little in second between two traffic lights; after 2.500 laps the sound transforms into a real roar, now everyone is watching. OMG what a shame !!!
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I go out on the highway and, as happened with the BB, everything becomes quiet. Traveling in fifth gear at legal speeds, you don't hear the mechanics practically anything, just the sound of the wind. So I put on the stereo and I drive the 50 Kms that separate me from the meeting point relaxed.
Contrary to what people think, the consumptions of this sports car are really contained. Believe me, there are many kilometers that I have done in them and, with averages of 100-120, they tend to be around 10 L / 100; driving on German roads at rates of 140-160 we reach 14, and only if we travel beyond 220 will we exceed 20 L / 100. There is a test in a vintage French magazine that I cannot locate where he is up against a 2 CV and a Testarossa. Both must go from one city to another at a maximum of 120 km / h, and in the end it turns out that the simple French utility vehicle spends more than the massive Italian horse. If you think about it, it is normal: the 2 CV would suffocate the poor man, to the maximum of what his beloved grinder gives.
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Beauty and the beast
I must admit that the poise, safety and ease of driving that the Testarossa transmits on the highway does not correspond to the sensitivity of its driving in low speed conditions or especially low grip. In those situations, I cannot help saying that it is a really difficult car to drive; Furthermore, it demands a driver with a cool head and a steady hand. I will tell you a couple of anecdotes below ...
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