Ferrari 250 Testarossa

The Ferrari 250 Testarossa is a pure racing sports car produced from 1957 to 1961. In 1957, the World Sports Car Championship series and 24 Hours of Le Mans limited engine displacement to 3 liters. Ferrari S.p.A. had to innovate and over the years of production, made 33 machines; 19 of which were sold to  independent racing teams. The key to understanding the Testarossa is the idea  of evolution. 

The engine was an new iteration of the proven Colombo designed V-12 with  modifications to improve both performance and reliability which Enzo Ferrari  insisted upon. Carburetors were doubled to 6 2-barrel Weber 38 DCN to feed the fuel. The engine head was strengthened to improve sealing with a single cam-shaft per bank actuating 2 valves per cylinder. The spark plug was relocated to improve  combustion. The piston connecting rods were machined from steel billet rather than as previously forged, which resulted in higher engine speed. And the cam covers were painted bright red which is the source of the Testarossa (Red Head) name.  

This Tipo 128 engine produced 300 bhp at 7,000 rpm. At 100 bhp per liter of  displacement, it was a demonstration of Ferrari S.p.A. engineering expertise and  a point of pride to the company and Enzo Ferrari in particular. The engineering team had taken an already exceptional engine and made it even better. It was  exceptionally reliable.  

The chassis was built up from steel tube, and again, at Enzo Ferrari’s insistence was made reliable--even at the expense of some added weight. The suspension evolved over time from live or de Dion rear axles to fully independent.  Brakes were initially drum, again at Enzo Ferrari’s insistence on reliability from a well understood  technology. Never-the-less, in 1959 the Scuderia Ferrari machines adopted  Dunlop disc brakes. 

This example, chassis number “4739” is a genuine Ferrari 250, though made after the initial production run of TR60s. Built in the late 70’s for noted European racing driver Regis Fraissinet; whose name still adorns the cars fenders, this is a continuation vehicle, so-called because it began as a Ferrari 250 GTE and was modified to conform to the specifications of the TR60.  It is of no small significance that both the 250 GTE and TR60 share many design features, including the same chassis and engine.  

Therefore, the original 250 GTE bearing VIN # 4739 made it possible for the  current iteration of the vehicle to fall in the category of a genuine Ferrari rather than  a mere replica.