Autoblog

Why the Ferrari Testarossa deserves some respect

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 19:59:00 EST

Filed under: Classics, Coupe, Performance, Videos, Ferrari, Design/Style

Join us for a moment in putting on our way-back hats, zeroing in on the late 1980s. Imagine that you're in your bedroom. Look over at the wall across from your bed. What car do you see on the poster? If you're anything like us, it's a Lamborghini Countach - in fact, it's a trio of Lamborghini Countach models in an array of colors. Oh, and there's also a 1:18-scale diecast Countach in black sitting on our dresser with its scissor doors locked in a skyward embrace.

Of course, the Raging Bull wasn't Italy's only great supercar from the 1980s, especially if you cast your lot at the temple of the Prancing Horse. The Ferrari Testarossa, as pointed out in the latest video from Petrolicious, is an oft unsung hero penned from the stuff boyhood dreams are made of. Far from a *ahem* red-headed stepchild, the Testarossa deserves a place in the minds and hearts of '80s supercar fans the world over.

Scroll down below to watch vintage car collector Joe Ventura talk about the Ferrari Testarossa with beautifully bright red Italian design serving as a fitting backdrop.

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Why the Ferrari Testarossa deserves some respect originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 13 Feb 2013 19:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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1957 Ferrari Testa Rossa sells for $6.4M in Monaco

Noah Joseph — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:33:00 EST

Filed under: Classics, Auctions, Ferrari

Few marques get auto collectors riled up quite like Ferrari, and of classic Ferraris, few are as highly sought-after as the legendary Testa Rossa. We're talking, of course, about the 50s-era roadster (as opposed to the 80s-era cheesegrater supercar), and the originals continue to fetch top dollar (or euro) whenever and wherever their fortunate owners are willing to part with them.

That when and where came this past weekend in Monte Carlo during the Historical Grand Prix of Monaco where RM Auctions sold some highly desirable classic metal. Topping the list was the rare 1957 Ferrari 625 TRC Spider you see here, one of only two built, which sold for a whopping €5,040,000 - equivalent to over $6.4 million at today's exchange rates. That's considerably more than the $4m four-cylinder 500 TRC that RM auctioned last year, but substantially less than the record $12m it garnered for a 250 TR in 2009.

Of course the Testa Rossa wasn't the only car sold at the event, which brought in an astonishing €33.5 million (~$43m) in sales on 87 percent of all lots sold. In fact it wasn't even the only Ferrari represented there, though it was the most expensive by a wide margin. A 1966 Ferrari 206 S Dino Spyder and a 1952 Ferrari 225 Sport Spyder 'Tuboscocca' (one of only 12 Vignale Spyders produced) each fetched €2.5 million ($3.2m), a rare factory Daytona Spyder brought in over €1 million ($1.3m), the car which Michael Schumacher drove to the 2000 Formula One World Championship and that Ferrari hydroplane each brought in over €800k (about a million greenbacks).

Other notable racing machinery sold at the auction included a Peugeot 908 LMP (which won several Le Mans Series races), a Lamborghini Gallardo LP600 GT3 (raced by Blancpain CEO Mark Hayek in the Super Trofeo series), a Ferrari FXX Evoluzione and a pair of Ducati Desmosedici MotoGP racing bikes. Follow the jump for all the juicy details and scope out the headline Testa Rossa in the high-res image gallery above.

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1957 Ferrari Testa Rossa sells for $6.4M in Monaco originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 15 May 2012 12:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Spy Shots: Is the 2011 Lamborghini Murciélago set to get Testarossa strakes?

Jonathon Ramsey — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 10:29:00 EST

Filed under: Spy Photos, Coupe, Performance, Lamborghini, Luxury

What the image shows is a 2011 Lamborghini Murciélago mule on a testing run in Portugal. What the mule shows is a profile that looks like the remnants of a tryst between Miami Vice and Cannonball Run - a Testarossa-esque aspect with cheesegrater side strakes, to be specific. And that must mean that this is a Frankensteined body thrown together to confuse snappers, because there is no way the next Murci will have any such hindquarters... right?

Underneath whatever Reventón-inspired cues the super coupe ends up wearing, it is understood that the next Murci will secret a carbon fiber tub that replaces the current car's steel spaceframe. That bit of F1 tech will could bring the car in under 3,300 pounds. Shifting will be courtesy a sequential manual, the top speed beyond 200 miles per hour and the price beyond $300,000.

[Source: CAR]

Spy Shots: Is the 2011 Lamborghini Murciélago set to get Testarossa strakes? originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 25 Mar 2010 10:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Swiss Ferrari driver hit with record $290,000 speeding fine

Chris Shunk — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 10:01:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal, Ferrari

Switzerland doesn't mess around when it comes to speeding tickets. Get caught with a lead foot in the land of Alpine vistas and serious chocolate and the cost of your transgression won't be based on a flat rate for the infraction, it will be based on how wealthy you are. An unnamed driver of a Ferrari Testarossa found this out the hard way when he was caught driving 85 miles per hour through the village of St. Gallen. According to the BBC News, the driver was a repeat offender and his crime was going 35 mph over the speeding limit.

The punishment? How about £180,000 ($290,000 in U.S. funds), or enough money to purchase two or three Testarossas on eBay. That ungodly sum is reported to be more than double the previously costliest ticket, though we're pretty sure the new record holder probably isn't celebrating. Don't feel too bad for the unnamed offender, though, as he is reportedly worth $22.7 million and he owns a villa and five luxury cars. We don't know about you, but we've certainly pulled back our tears. Thanks for the tips, everyone!

[Source: BBC News | Image: Andrew Reddington/Getty]

Report: Swiss Ferrari driver hit with record $290,000 speeding fine originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 08 Jan 2010 10:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ferrari Testarossa sculpture looks marbleous

Frank Filipponio — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 13:29:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Supercars, Ferrari

Click above for a gallery of photos of this incredible stone Testarossa sculpture

No, this isn't the result of some prehistoric Dietrich getting his hands on a friend's Ferrari, nor did some stand-up comic drive a Testarossa into a cement mixer. It's actually a sculpture carved by two artists with a taste for the dramatic. Artists Daniel Dewar and Grégory Gicquel have been working together on projects like this one since 1998. They've crafted Nike tennis shoes, BMX bikes, electric guitars, skateboards and motorcycle helmets, all out of wood. They've also created a giant wrought iron Big Bertha golf club and other works that are increasingly kitschy and Surrealistic. Their works have been displayed all over the world, but this one has really captured our attention. It is a stone Ferrari Testarossa that has enough detail to be instantly recognizable, but is intentionally left raw and busted apart to resemble a fossil of the once proud supercar. It's a fun piece of automobilia and social commentary all in one. Take a look at the gallery and check out the duos' website to learn more about these gifted artists.

Gallery: Stone Testarossa

[Sources: Artforum, leblogauto, BilNorge, today and tomorrow, dalbera, daniel dewar & grégory gicquel]

Ferrari Testarossa sculpture looks marbleous originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 06 Mar 2009 13:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Sultan's secret 1995 Ferrari FX

Frank Filipponio — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 13:26:00 EST

Filed under: Concept Cars, Europe, Supercars, Ferrari

Richard Owen of Supercars.net recently visited the Marconi Museum in Tustin, California and discovered one of its hidden gems, a Sultan of Brunei custom Ferrari FX. Richard explains the history of this technological tour de force and gives us some insight into the bizarre story of the Sultan and his massive collection of one-offs, custom-builts, exotics and supercars that numbered in the thousands. The whole collection was estimated to have cost some $28 billion. This particular jewel started life as a Ferrari 512M but was so extensively modified that the new FX nomenclature was used. And being the Sultan, this is just number four of seven nearly identical models he had commissioned. Pininfarina redesigned the body and the Williams F1 crew was tabbed to do some mechanical tweaking.

The cars started life at Pininfarina where the new aluminum and carbon fiber bodies were mated to a 512M platform. The Sultan's brother, Prince Jefri, then took the car to Williams where it was fitted with a sequential gearbox similar to their Formula 1 unit. But this car never finished the cycle. The Sultan's buying days had come to an abrupt halt while the car was still at Williams and that's where Dick Marconi came in. The sole dark blue FX in the bunch, it was purchased by Herbalife founder, ex-boxer and sometime racer, Dick Marconi, for his Southern California museum. And there it sits for anyone to see. Check out supercars.net for more photos and details. And if you're ever in Southern California, make sure you stop by the Marconi Museum. All Museum donations go to support the Marconi Foundation for Kids, which provides funds to at risk youth.

[Source: Supercars.net]

The Sultan's secret 1995 Ferrari FX originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 10 Oct 2006 13:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hottest. Testarossa. Ever.

Alex Nunez — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 11:01:00 EST

Filed under: Performance, Etc.

What do you get when you mix an art student, 12 miles of yarn, and an affinity for Maranello's finest?

Well, if you're Lauren Porter of England's Bath Spa University, you get a full-scale Ferrari Testarossa/355 hybrid.

Made of 100% wool, no less.

I guess the car wash is pretty much out of the question for this baby. Go check it out.

[Source: The Sun Online]

Hottest. Testarossa. Ever. originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 16 Jun 2006 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Another Ferrari crash in SoCal, this one a double-fatality with possible police involvement

Chris Paukert — Wed, 24 May 2006 07:33:00 EST

Filed under: Trends, Coupe, Etc., Supercars

Another Ferrari has left the road in Southern California, this time a 1993 Ferrari Testarossa in the outlying areas of western Los Angeles, resulting in the death of its two occupants. Although the names of the deceased have not been released, signs at the scene reportedly indicate that one of the two victims was an off-duty California Highway Patrol officer. Reportedly, the driver lost control at high speed, launching the straked supercar into telephone pole, causing it to flip in the process.

High profile, So-Cal prancing-horse pileups have been in the news more than usual lately, with the extended antics of Stefan Eriksson and his imaginary friend Dietrich's spectacular Enzo crash continuing to dominate the headlines more than three months after the accident.

An investigation into Tuesday's Testarossa crash is underway.

[Source: The Los Angeles Times]

Another Ferrari crash in SoCal, this one a double-fatality with possible police involvement originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 24 May 2006 07:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Autoblog Travelogue: 2006 One Lap Of America

Chris Paukert — Tue, 09 May 2006 11:54:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Etc., Audi, BMW, Chevrolet, Daimler, Dodge, Ford, GM, Honda, Jeep, Lotus, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Mitsubishi, Pontiac, Porsche, Subaru, Volkswagen

Well, the fuse has been lit on the 2006 installment of the splendiforously-titled Tire Rack Cannonball One Lap of America presented by Car & Driver (better known as 'One Lap'), and as usual, your trusty Autoblog contact is on the scene. We had high hopes for 'live-blogging' the Cannonball Run offspring this year via daily updates, but circumstances have conspired against us. At any rate, for those not terribly familiar with the event, here's the (kinda-sorta) quick and dirty:

Brock Yates, patron saint of modern American automotive journalism and founder of the original 'Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash,' created a weeklong national road rally in 1984 for gearheads and their hangers-on. In its original incarnation, the event was a bleary-eyed run around the perimeter of these United States. In more recent times (1992-present), One Lap has evolved into a more sophisticated setup that sees racers drive from racetrack to racetrack around the country (the route changes each year), with stops at major and minor tracks along the way. The race is essentially a 'rung whatcha brung' event in which cars of wildly varying description and capability duke it out in different racing venues for overall and in-class wins. The beauty of One Lap is its simplicity-- if you can find a state willing to slap a license plate on it, it's okay by Brock. Racers must attend a couple of track day schools and meet certain rudimentary safety standards (helmets, SFI-rated firesuits, etc.) and run on tires purchased from title sponsor The Tire Rack, but everything else is essentially fair game.

Entrants test the durability of their rides, their backsides, and their mental states not only with long transit stages, but also a good cross-section of events -- everything from road courses to ovals to drag strips. Transit stages on public roads are not timed or scored events, though generally there is at least one passage control along the way to keep things 'on the level.' By way of example, a few years ago, One Lappers were treated to a dirt oval, proving once and for all that auto afficianados haven't lived until they've seen a Lamborghini Diablo spraying muddy roostertails up over the catch fence.

Click through to the jump for more One Lap of America, including dozens of photographs!

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Autoblog Travelogue: 2006 One Lap Of America originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 09 May 2006 11:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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