Hemmings says TR has nowhere to go but up!

Hogwash

500 cars out of the 10,000 are toast for sure. Once these 575,599,360s,430s start hitting the market at 20 yrs old plus and need electronics, the Testarossa will be a cake walk in upkeep.

Also, with a growing population, 9,500 cars left is not a lot of cars....all it needs is a little catch like the Dino , and bingo.

And if it doesn't, poor me I have a 12 cyl Ferrari that won't go up in value, poor me , poor us

 

+1
In addition,
As I said, it's not a question of how many we're made, it's a question of how large the demand is vs. the supply. I think people are really underestimating how large the demand will be once more of my generation is in a position to execute on their dreams. The 308 and 328 were popular for sure, but the Tr graced more car magazines than any other Ferrari. It just about defined what a super car was, along with the countach. I don't think they will ever be worth millions, but I think in ten years there will be a one in front of the price for any good TR... Maybe an extra zero for a single mirror

 

Excuse me but......Miami Vice is now on retro TV. Be nice if people are reminded of "our generation" again. With that said......will this mean we now must dress 80's again? If so....I feel a Jan Hammer moment coming on!!!

I also agree with the supply/demand thingy. As the supply goes down my TR has to go up. Add in the possible "Dino" factor as Big Red states and I think you have all the makings for a first class run for the roses. Time gentlemen....give it time.

 

Keep this up Joe and sometime soon I am going to come to your house in the middle of the night and add another mirror to your car!!!!

 

A customer of mine just purchased a 19k miles red/tan TR. the car has never seen rain, 2 owner car...snagged it for 35k. All service history from day one...Interior looks like it has never been sat in. It's in for a service ,And we are installing an upgraded diff. Oh, it even has the dealer window sticker.

I'm heading out next week end (hopefully) to look at a 91 TR with 15k KM on it, you would not believe the price if I told you.

2 mint TR's for under 100k..

 

Here is the thing, while some here obviously love the looks the TR was really not a pretty car. The front and rear don't tie together nicely. The rear looks like one big fat ass, appealing in some cultures but generally not so. The cheese graters may be iconic but in general they are hard on the eyes, if people loved that look. It would still be a styling element today.

Lets talk maintenance. Compare a TR/boxer to a Daytona/Dino. The older cars can suffer from horrendous rust, but by now they are all restored so that is not an issue. The cams are chain driven, so the only real maintenance is carbs, and those being out don't stop the car or result in catastrophe. The older cars are also simpler, so they are easier to work on and keep running.

Why is a Dino so popular, its beautiful to look at, easy to drive and quite useable. Most owners of classics could not care exactly how fast the car is as its a ride an experience and a look. Plus in the modern world, short of a track in most places you can't go fast anyway.

Now a tr or boxer is going to need that engine out every 5 years or so, and doing the job properly and thoroughly is not going to leave a whole lotta change from 10k. Between the belts and bits these cars don't like to sit. None have really been restored so worn components need to be replaced ad hoc adding to the bills. The TR is also visually challenged to many eyes.

Think how low Ghibelline prices sat for how long. The running costs pushed prices even lower.

Yes one day a TR will be worth a lot, just like a 57 caddy is. The looks are fully evocative of an era just like the caddy and this will one day pull prices up. The TR was only iconic in the USA because until the tr fast cars were denied this market.

Boxers are also lower than they should be due to maintenance issues as above. But as a classic the boxer has that lithe look a tr just lacks, plus its more rare.

Anyways next time a good $40k tr shows up let me know, what a great buy, pref black or grey to hide the cheese graters.

 

Only iconic in the USA?? Are you kidding me?!

The TR and Countach were icons absolutely everywhere on the planet.

 

While I of course respect your opinion, you appear to deposit as fact that the testarossa is not a pretty car, as if there is an objective standard for beauty. I would suggest that not only is the testarossa beautiful, to my eyes and many others it is among the most beautiful shapes in automotive history. I can go on and on about the styling elements, but consider the fact that so many of its design cues were copied and recopied throughout the 1980s by other manufacturers. The car is more than iconic, more than one of the definitive super cars of the 80s (nod to the contach here) she is simply Bella.

 

Except that cheese graters and big fat square rear ends have not made the cut.

To most eyes beautiful ferraris have curves and hips, much like a woman laying on her side.
The tr is more like a big assed big boobed look, which it is true is very popular in the USA.

The look is very 80's or evocative of that era rather than being timeless. The countavh by contrast is really a concept car that they built, its design belongs to itself is pure aggression and futurism, it is also a balanced shape, as is a Maura Dino boxer and Daytona.

The tr was a compromise, a boxer lengthened and then widened to fit a larger fatter client who needed ac that worked, hence the shifting of the radiators to the flanks. Ferrari worked with the bits they had and pinyin farina did too.

As to the look, cars that aped elements of it, like the mon dial, 348 and 25 anniversary countavh are all pretty much the bottom of the derisriability heap in their respective categories.

The tr though does agave. A certain dramatic presence, is functional and the last real 12 cyl hard charging ferraris. The newer ones are cars like others just with more power.

Putting the looks aside, the single mirror is original, and the 512 tr has so much more epic performance that it is interesting in its own right.

My personal opinion is these cars look best in black or other darker colors so the cheese graters don't grate on the psyche.

Of course opinions are subjective, but there is such a thing as good and bad art, and the market seems to agree.

I don't think Ferrari returned to truly beautiful design until the 458, which is a big gap in time from the 308/boxer era. Many of the designs in between may be dramatic, but not necessarily beautiful or harmonious. The newer 12's are all about in your face drama, and frankly I think the c7 vette is way better design wise than a f12. But then these cars are made for the china market not us, and china has Buick as the number 1 brand.

The USA was the target for the tr, not Europe, and its design reflects they tastes there at the time, as well as the necessity of compromise by having to use boxer bits underneath.

 

You could engage in the same negative critique of the Mona Lisa. To me, the testarossa's beauty lies in its uniqueness. The primary reason I think it's design elements have not survived is because they don't translate we'll onto other forms and where so horribly mimicked during the 1980s. It is also a purely functional design, whereas subsequent copycats were stylistic whores.

The prettiest girl in the room seldom has textbook features. It is how everything comes together that matters. You may pick apart certain design cues, but the end result, 25 years later, is that when a testarossa enters the bar, she is the girl all the guys want and all the girls hate...

 

^^^That pretty much says it right there, Joe. Very well stated.

I have had my TR for almost 7 years now. And just the other day while in the garage I glanced at the TR, not intending to stare at it (hard to do right). But the light hit in a way that picked up a subtlety in the shape that I had not really noticed before. Truly beautiful.

Personally I really tried to like the Boxer. Almost traded the TR for one 5 years or so ago. I still try to this day. But to me its design is the one that is disjointed and doesn't fit well together front to rear. Something wrong in the proportions. And more importantly - again, to my eyes - there is nothing special that really jumps out at you. Add in the fact that it is not practical as a GT car (as intended) due to the mechanical layout and it is a wonder to me why they have such appeal.

We all know that opinions are like anal pores... But I feel that there is more design beauty in the rear view mirror of the TR than in most cars. And I am lucky enough to have two of those mirrors on my TR!

 

If you love your TR it is all that really matters.

I have heard this TRs are going up in value for years and I don't believe it. There have been cars for sale for years and they don't sell. Many are selling well below asking price, there are plenty to choose from and plenty of low mile examples.

If you want one, buy a really nice one and enjoy it, but I would not be hoping for any big jump in the TR market or would I be nervous about missing out.

 

Gentleman

Here in the UK in 2004 (I think) the TV show Fifth gear carried out a poll asking the public what was their favourite ferrari of all time......??? Yes you guessed it -the daddy, the head honcho, the big cheese the big daddy rabbit himself.... testarossa it made me jump for joy and I wasn't an owner back then either !!!

Tr boy

 

"Biggest problem is the large production #'s "
Over 7500 TR's
Now take the TR's out of the equation........
Only 2800 512TR = Rising Value
But somewhere in translation the 512 got bunched in with th TR's.....
The 512 is only 15-20k more in value as per the market.
IMHO

 

Go to a big auction and listen to the dealer chatter in the front row when every Red/Tan TR comes across the block. The perception is that these are fright pigs for maintenance, and that every potential owner is a nervous nellie who wants a bound encyclopedia of service histary (Sound familiar?) When you make these cars less attractive for speculators the value increases very slowly.

Yeah go to any car show and you'll see people do truly LOVE the Trs looks- they adore this car and to many it really represents "Ferrari"- at least for people of a certain age.

As long as a quick google search turns up "Diff Failures" and $16K Major services, they'll be scaring away the casual collector- the guy who would drop $60K on a Camaro in a heartbeat, but NEVER think about dropping $50K on a TR.

That changes only when the value of the maintenance needed becomes a smaller fraction of the value of the car- a bit of a catch-22 at the moment.

 

Excellent point.

 

True, next to diff threads and fights about door seals, it seems many threads are about values either going up or down. The market will set the price at what the market will bear. I would never buy a car on speculation. I don't have that kind of coin. I did exactly as you say - I bought a good one and am enjoying the heck out of it.

 

Be honest, the drive would be much better knowing the car was worth 135 grand as opposed to 25 grand ...come on, admit it....you know you want to.

 

That's a bit of a loaded question. Everyone wants what they have to be special and valuable, but if it gets too valuable you'll be scared to used it like it was intended.

 

If the words 135k scare people, then they shouldn't be in a Testarossa to begin with ...it's not like I said 1M

I too could not wrap my head around driving or insuring a 500 grand car, even if it was bought for 85k.

As they say, if you're going to dream, dream BIG !

 

I had a 599 in the shop the other day..made the TR's I have here look like a fiat 500. Love the TR on the open road, around town..not so much. Great car but definatly not a posers car. You gotta really drive these babies. And if the A/C don't work, you are sweating, big time. No need for the gym!!

Maybe thats why Big Red wears the track suits??

 

Forget the driving experience, the Testarossa is a gorgeous , as for the track suits those are for not scratching my interior's

 

The joy of the TR is the driving. Heat or not....when dialed in.....she drives like she on rails. Gotta love the g's going in and out of corners. makes you feel like you really are in a race car. But the leather seats bring you back to reality. It still is one of my favorite F-cars as it would get displaced for an F-40, but choking down on a 750k price tag is a little tough for me even if I had that kinda change.

 

The parts and maintenance for the Camaro is next to nothing.

 

You have to remember, that sometimes the customer wants an over and above service. New clutch..even if the old one will last a few more years, plate all the nuts and bolts, remove the intakes, fuel injection system, plate the lines, new injectors so they match the newly plated hard wear, clean and detail the block and engine bay, full interior clean and detail, etc etc..

When you do all of this, you bet the bill will be 15k, or over.