Spoiler alert: the number is still huge.
The Ferrari Testarossa is considered by many as one of the greatest supercars in the world together with the Lamborghini Countach. There are several factors that speak for themselves about this statement and one is that almost 10,000 examples (including modernized versions) were assembled in the 12-year production run. Another impressive factor about the Testarossa testifying its immortal coolness is its 4.9-liter flat-12 naturally aspirated engine. That’s the main topic in the video at the top of this page.
It’s the same car that we featured last week. It’s currently owned by the guy behind the Normal Guy Supercar channel on YouTube and will undergo a full restoration. Before the engine is taken out of the car for a complete rebuild, the owner takes it to the dyno to see how much power the 12-cylinder motor still generates. And you’ll be surprised by the results.
Testarossa Fun Facts:
As you probably know, there’s a 15-18 percent loss between the power measured at the crank and at the wheels. In stock form, when new, the Testarossa had 385 horsepower (287 kilowatts) at the crank, which should translate into roughly 315-330 hp (235-246 kW) at the wheels. But is that the case now? As a side note, it’s important to note that early U.S. market versions had slightly less power.
The numbers the dyno shows are impressive. Our initial estimates were about 290 to 300 hp (216 to 224 kW) at the wheels but the car actually produced 321 hp (239 kW) at the rear axle. Doing the simple math, this means the engine itself produces no less than 369 hp (275 kW). Don’t forget that this is a 32-years old engine – not bad, right?
We will follow the restoration process of this Testarossa with the hope it returns to its former glory. We’d be very interested to see what the numbers are after the engine is fully rebuilt.
source: NormalGuySupercar
