I have had the privilege of driving a lot of different Ferrari’s before, particularly those between the 80’s and 90’s, so much so that I have lost count. Even then, perhaps unsurprisingly, it never fails to excite me when a new opportunity arises to have a go in yet another one. The Ferrari in question today is a special one, being the renowned Testarossa. I have mentioned numerous times before that the Testarossa is one of my dream Ferrari’s, along with the BB512 and of course, the unicorn F50. Four years ago I had the honour to review a 1994 512TR which was in mint condition. However, my favorite has always been the Testarossa, not the 512TR, not the F512M, but the Testarossa. And now, that bucket list item has been proudly ticked.
The Testarossa is of course part of the legendary mid-engine 12-cylinder flagship rivalry between Ferrari and Lamborghini which started in the 60’s when Lamborghini practically drafted the blueprint of the ‘supercar’ with its groundbreaking Miura. This rivalry triggered one of the best eras of car design history, with distinguished creations like the Lamborghini Countach and Diablo and the Ferrari Boxer and Testarossa. This was of course until former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo decided to singlehandedly ruin this winning streak by re-introducing front-engined cars for the Ferrari v12 flagship models. Practical? Yes. Strikingly beautiful? Not really.
It feels a little deja vu being behind the wheel of a Testarossa four years after my seat time with the 512TR. This time, however, is a little different as I am not reviewing the car in my usual playground of Hong Kong, but rather in Singapore. The owner of the Testarossa is the founder of this local classic Ferrari group which I was invited to join, despite not owning a Ferrari here, but because a few of their members watch my channel. I am very grateful to be included and to be handed the keys to one of only a handful of Testarossa’s left in Singapore; the hospitality and generosity demonstrated is truly touching. Testarossa’s are reasonably valuable everywhere in the world these days, but in the most expensive country in the world, they cost an extra pretty penny. A Testarossa in Singapore is at least Hong Kong 812 Superfast money, i.e. around USD400k-500k.
Every Labour Day (1st May), the Singapore car community gets together for a big meet at Dempsey Hill. This year, being Singapore’s 60th independence anniversary, a.k.a. “SG60”, any ordinary big event becomes extra special. So the classic Ferrari group decided to get together early in the morning to do a “60” formation with their Ferrari’s before heading to the Dempsey Hill meet. My friend was going to take both his 360 Spider manual and Testarossa, and asked me to help him drive one. He asked me to pick which one to drive and, putting aside that anyone given this choice will likely pick the Testarossa, I had an additional reason not to pick the 360 Spider manual as I had owned one for a few years before so there wasn’t much desire to revisit it in the presence of a Testarossa.
This Testarossa is very clearly not original, with F512M front and rear bumpers and a set of brand new custom made wheels which imitates the original Testarossa wheels but with a modern touch. While I am not a fan of the F512M bodykit, which the owner did not do himself as the mods were made in-period, I must admit I am quite a fan of the wheels. If I had a Testarossa and had to get around the tyre size scarcity issue, I would be more than happy to replace my original wheels with these. They look great and the offset is lovely. The car also has a Gruppe-M intake, 6 piston Brembo brakes, and upgraded suspensions among other enhancements.
Sitting inside, the interior is also not original. It has a 512TR/512M interior with updated seats and steering wheel as well as a custom Alcantara dash. Other than that, the surrounding is a familiar place, similar to all the 80s and 90’s Ferrari’s that I have driven before. Turn the key, and the beautiful starter motor fires up the engine. This may be uncommon, but I have long been attracted to the sound that starter motors of exotic 12-cylinder cars make. From Ferraris to Lamborghinis to Aston Martins, and even Mercedes 600’s, the sound the starter motors make on their 12-cylinder models are always distinctive, presumably because they are more powerful. They make a slightly higher pitched sound with a more controlled frequency than starter motors of ordinary cars. After the starter of course comes the unmistakable flat-12 roar from the Testarossa’s exhaust note. Nothing else comes close.
Visibility is as good as I remembered, with large glass all around. Seating position is good, although these days I can no longer tell if a classic Ferrari has the ‘long arms short legs’ position typically found in Italian cars of this era or that I have simply gotten so used to it that I no longer notice it. The clutch, while having the level of weight you would expect from a Ferrari, is relatively, if not surprisingly, light. I recall the clutch of the 512TR to be noticeably heavier. However, as I always say, cars of this age are all different by now with different maintenance history and usage, as such this observation should not be treated as the Testarossa having a lighter clutch than the 512TR by design. I am sure there are many Testarossa out there with heavier clutches.
Going through the gears, the car feels potent and eager, and the exhaust note is nothing short of intoxicating. While the 385HP is not a lot for a Ferrari flagship car in today’s standard, this is by no means a slow car by any standards. When really stepping on it going through the first to forth gears, power is sufficient and linear throughout the rev range but with a significant and noticeable power surge once the needle passes 5,000rpm.
The aircon is cold, the steering is relatively manageable in slow maneuvers even with the lack of power steering, and the notorious rear width of this car no longer applies in the modern world when an average SUV is likely just as wide, if not wider, than the Testarossa. This makes the Testarossa an extremely useable car, even in a hot climate like Singapore. I have had the pleasure of using this car as my daily for three days and during that time I have gone through thunderstorms, school pick-ups, underground car parks and traffic jams and it did not skip a beat. What an absolute joy. As always, I am ever so thankful to the generous owner for entrusting his pride and joy with me. I only wish I could’ve taken up his offer to keep the car for a few days more if not for my neighbours complaining about the loud exhaust! To be fair though, waking the entire estate up at 5:30AM on Labour Day for the SG60 shoot and Dempsey Hill meet easily put a huge target on my back…
See my review video here: