- A Swiss company is working on a modernized version of the Ferrari Testarossa.
- It has a more powerful version of the original car’s 4.9-liter flat-12.
- There’s no word yet on price or availability, but it won’t be cheap.
In the 1980s, the Ferrari Testarossa was a spectacular supercar symbol of the era’s excess and conspicuous consumption. It also enjoyed a starring role in the later seasons of the ultimate ‘80s cop show, Miami Vice. The Testarossa quickly fell out of critical favor, but in recent years interest has started to rise again and values have enjoyed a corresponding increase. Now a Swiss tuner is set to offer a faster and modernized version of the original car.
Based in Coldrerio in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland, Officine Fioravanti has reportedly spent 14 months working on its retuned Testarossa. This company seems to be a continuation of a design agency that Leonardo Fioravanti started in the 1990s—Fioravanti himself led the team at Pininfarina that designed the original Testarossa.
The new car has a more powerful version of the original car’s 4.9-liter flat-12 that produced 380 horsepower and—with a long enough straight and a brave enough pilot—could push the Testarossa to just under 180 mph, enough to make it the fastest production car in the world at the time. We don’t know exactly how much more power and torque the new version has, but according to Veloce.it its rev limiter has been raised to 9000 rpm. With revised aerodynamics, around 260 pounds of weight savings, and new Michelin Pilot Sport tires, the Testarossa is now claimed to be capable of 200 mph.
We’re not sure why Officine Fioravanti has opted to wrap its prototype in camouflage for these early images, as no obvious changes have been made to the original bodywork. Rather than try to diminish the problems of packaging its vast flat-12 engine, Fioravanti’s Testarossa design featured a dramatically squared-off rear end and also the iconic side strakes set into the doors and leading to the rear radiator inlets. Another famous feature of early Testarossas was the use of a single extra-long external mirror on the driver’s side only—one we are pleased to see Officine Fioravanti’s test car still wears.
Other changes include the addition of traction control and ABS, as well as electronic Ohlins dampers and an adjustable suspension. There is no word on power steering, another omission from the original Testarossa, but we wouldn’t be surprised if an electric system has been added to help low-speed maneuvering. Officine Fioravanti is also promising a fully retrimmed cabin with new leather, machined aluminium components in place of plastic, and a modern audio system.
There is no word on price or availability yet. The finished car certainly won’t be cheap, but if you already possess a Testarossa you are almost certain to have a high tolerance for painful bills. For reference, Ian Callum’s reimagining of the original Aston Martin Vanquish costs around $600,000 beyond the cost of the base car itself. But regardless of money, we are very keen to see what the finished version is capable of.
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Source: Motor - aranddriver.com
