What are your thoughts on Ferrari resurrecting the Testarossa?

Hello All,

As a kid of the 80's, the Testarossa was the ultimate Ferrari for me. It was big, fast, sexy, flashy, extravagant, excessive - an automotive symbol of the decade. Although I have to say that I like the new 599 GTB, I miss having a regular production mid-engined V12 (or Flat 12, for that matter) Ferrari in the line-up. I think a modern or up-to-date rendition of the Testarossa would hit the sweetspot. What are your thoughts on this?

Cheers,
Andy

 

Absolutely, just make sure they have a real spyder without a hokey top like the Barchetta or the Superamerica

Just have the guys who did the AMG55SL top do 1 for the new TR

Sometimes when I look at the Lambo Gallardo it seems to have a whole lot of TR cues in it, so does the Lotus Elise

 

While they are at it.....how about an oval piston flat 12 bbi Too...
To keep the COG real low!

 

Needs to be a foot shorter and 500 lbs lighter

 

No need to go to a bad piston design, just put the trans where it belongs.

 

I'm also a TR admirer and '80s kid. Finances permitting, I'd like to have one alongside my 328 someday.

I'm sure the TR name will ride again at some point (it's already been used twice, and Mondial was resurrected as well). I think the '80s spirit of Pininfarina is dead and buried, though, so you might be disappointed in the next rendition of the TR. Safety regs and the rounded-blob school of styling wouldn't allow anything that low and angular.

 

The F50 can be seen as a TR development bcus the Mythos which was the F50 prototype was based on a TR chassis & both have 12s

If they build 1 they have to have a drivetrain layout like the F50, not w the engine sitting atop the trans. it would also have to have lots of CF & be a spyder w a real automatic top, so basically what you are looking at is a newer F50

The Schmenzo is directly tracable to the F50 although the Schmenzo is really ugly & obviously not a spyder

So we need a car for abot $350k w killer looks and a big honking 6 liter 12 to give the Murcielago fits

I dont see Ferrari doing that as I'm sure they are working on the F60 or F70 or whatever they will call the next "Super" Ferrari

 

Yes, but make it retro like the TR of the 50s.

 

The Testarossa have been done to the death. If we look at it visually, how can you improve on perfection i.e. the 512TR. Ferrari tried that remember, and they ended with the less than perfect looking 512M. The only way you can perhaps improve on the 512TR is to alter some visual details like replace the black section in the rear decklid with clear perspex to be able to view the engine, add wheel spacers to the rear only (the rear wheels need to be brought out more as they look slightly too recessed), and finally colour code the front lip spoiler. I can't see any other area you can change to improve the looks. If you are concerned about bettering the performance then look no further than a Koenig engine conversion (nothing else), then you have the ultimate Testarossa that would anihilate/outperform any modern supercar except perhaps a Bugatti Veyron or Mclaren F1.

 

512TR Photoshopped With Clear Engine Cover...
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512TR with colour coded front lip spoiler...
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Mark my words, Ceramic oval piston technology is coming.
More displacement in less space. lower profile.lighter weight.
higher combustion temps with lower cooling capacities.
The only thing that is constant is change!

One day you will wake up and say.OMG I am an Antique!

 

Would be a mess to call another car a tr so soon. Especially since te 80s one was the largest 12 seller. Its way toooooooo early.

 

Ceramic Good

Oval Bad. Been there done that. Too many manufacturing problems and near impossible cylinder sealing.

 

The TR is almost as old now as the orig TR's were in 85.

 

Henry Ford said many of the same things about the Model T.


I love the TR but it is a rolling collection of 25-30 year old technology in a period of previously unprecedented advancement that no amount of modification will bring up to date.

The Mercedes 500k of 1936 was a beautiful automobile but time has past it by and it has also past the TR's design. I have every confidence that some young designer can or will do the name justice.

 

Heres is the precursor to oval technology/Lower COG in auto's

http://www.auto-pin.com/PublicCadImages/Euroline-Datasheet.pdf



Down The Road
Pistons may continue to get shorter and lighter, but most engineers believe rings can’t get much smaller than they are today. Some do think, though, that the two ring piston may not be too far away. Some Indy racing motors are already running two ring pistons quite successfully.

Other design innovations that may shape the direction of future piston development include lightweight alloy wrist pins, more anodizing and/or the use of ceramic coatings on the tops of pistons and upper ring groove to improve heat resistance and wear, and maybe top rings with no end gaps.

One engineer mentioned a new piston design he’s working on for an undisclosed performance application that has only a one-inch compression height.

The best indication of what’s coming down the road is to look at today’s state-of-the-art racing pistons: super lightweight designs with almost no skirts, holes machined into the sides to reduce weight, and various design tricks to control thermal expansion and detonation under high load.

We may see some exotic graphite reinforced pistons for certain high output engines similar to ones that are now being used in diesel engines. The development of direct injection gasoline engines in the U.S. market will likely require complex fuel bowls in the tops of pistons similar to those now used in many diesel engines. Direct injection, which is starting to come on strong in Europe, allows extremely lean air/fuel mixtures (up to 40:1) and much better fuel economy. But it also requires precise control of airflow in the combustion chamber for reliable ignition and complete combustion.

If hybrid gasoline/electric or diesel/electric vehicles become more common in the not-too-distant future (which many predict will happen), no big changes in piston design will be needed because most such systems use the same basic engine designs as today.

The biggest change in piston design will occur if and when fuel cells become a competitive power source for automotive applications. In that case, there will be no need for pistons and they’ll be on the endangered species list.

Most experts believe fuel cell technology is still years away. And when it does go into production, volumes will be very limited because of high costs. Eventually the cost will come down.

But even if fuel cells do eventually take over, many experts believe piston engines will continue to be produced for smaller, economy vehicles as well as heavy-duty vehicles.

There will also be an ongoing replacement market for pistons as long as piston-powered vehicles remain on the road.

 

I've been dreaming of a nice pontoon fendered 57 TR w updated looks & 575 running gear, like a Ferrari version of the BMW Z8, THAT would absolutely rule

 

What math are you doing ????

57 Trs(ending productions) and 87TRs (early productions) are 30 yrs apart.

87trs....and 2007 trs are not even 20 yrs.

 

The TR is an 85 car. Doesn't matter if it is still being built, it's still an 85 car.

So 57-85 is 28 yrs.
85-07 is 22 yrs. I call that, not much different. And that is presupposing they could get an idea today to market in a few months.

 

Kinda like this? Built by Steve Moal in Oakland with 550 drivetrain.
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Hahahaha...thats a 22% difference and a difference of 6 years, plus if we would compare apples with apples we would have to go back to when the orginal tr first came out which is pre 57.....6-10 yrs I think is a big difference.
I would rather be 22 than 28, 72 than 78 and have 22% more money rather than less...but hey why are we splitting hairs.

 

I would rather they didn't.
Some things should be left alone for people to reminisce about, makes them even more special.

 

No, I'm thinking a lot closer to a pontoon TR w modern drivetrain & modern wheels & rubber

more like a 550 Barchetta but w a lot more stlye

closer to the Rossa concept although Ken really screwed that 1 up to

 

hello,

my first true automobile love was the ferari testarossa. i was hooked the first time i saw one. history does have a tendency to repeat itself. so too, ferrari. one only needs to look at ferrari's past to see the 365 Daytona and the 246 Dino bare a striking resembelance to todays 456 GT and 360 Modena.

yes i'd love the TR to be reborne, and maybe someday it will. but i'd bet we'll see the resurrection of the 328 GTS. it was ferraris "first" top seller.

just my opinion.

joseph