Hello Everyone,

As a younger man I can remember seeing a red Ferrari Testarossa
that belonged to a guy across the street from a house my wife and I were
looking at buying. The house was in a "middle class" neighborhood so the
car really stood out. (I think maybe the owner had a "job" that involved illegal substances but I'm not sure. It seemed like he was always at home! lol!)
Anyway, this car made my heart beat a little faster each time I saw it.
I mean a V-12 with 390bhp and radiators in the sides of the car! I thought it was soooo coooool!

This afternoon I was looking though one of my bookcases and I came upon a book I bought many years ago. It is a "SUPERCARS" book just about the Testarossa.
As I was glancing through the book I came upon it's performance specs.
According to "Motor" magazine published JULY 13,1985, the Testarossa
went 0-60 in 5.8 seconds, 1/4 mile in 14.2 and had a top speed of 180.1.

I then looked up on the internet and according to "Top Speed" a 2010
SC430 goes 0-60 in 5.8 seconds, 1/4 mile in 14.3 and has a top speed of
149 mph electronically limited.
Wow! That is Very Close to the Ferrari!

I know, I know, I'm comparing a Ferrari 25 years old to a new car (even though I believe a 2006+ has the same performance stats so a 20 or so years newer car) but the Testarossa was a very fast car for it's day.
In fact, even today if you drove a 1985 Testarossa, you would not think you were driving a "slow" car.

I also know today that most "fast" cars are quite a bit faster than the SC.
I also know that in Tennessee a triple digit ticket will land you in jail so how
fast is fast enough?
I personally think the SC is plenty fast, is good looking and unique looking.
Yes I think the XK and SL are better looking and may be funner to drive.
But with the SC you can truly enjoy driving it knowing it will not let you down as the miles add up. You cannot always say that for the "other" brands.

It just surprised me that the SC was that quick in comparison and wanted to share that with you guys...


God Bless,
Brian

 

I couldn't agree more that the SC is quick in comparison. I grew up in an era of muscle cars.... the SS396, Corvette 454, Super Bee 440, Baracuda 426 hemi, etc. Who would believe that someone could make a 4.3 l (262 cu in) small block V8 this quick. I sure remember my 1963 Ford Fairlane with a 260 cu. in. V8 and my 1965 Mustang 289 cu. in. V8 was nowhere near as quick as the SC. It's amazing what electronic ignition and fuel injection has done for these cars.

 

The Ferrari Testarossa is my dream car. It is the car that got me into
cars. As a child I had a matchbox model and that was the only car I knew not to play "car crash" with. Such a beautiful car and they get my bp up even when I see them today. Great post Brian and at this point I agree that the SC is plent fast but if it did have that extra edge in performance it would be an almost perfect car.

 

The SC has always been plenty fast for me, one time I did 92mph

 

I always loved this ferrari more for some reason...love the testarossa, don't get me wrong but this car always made me want to get a convertible...

 

Agreed -- what model is that?

 

I was reading a review of the new Turbo 911, which scoots to 60 in 2.9 seconds in a comparison to the new Vette, a slow poke at 3.4 seconds. The SC430 sits in good company in the five second range, enough power to feel sporty without scaring the C$&p out of me. Performance is now overkill, an Evo, WRX, and the ISF have super performance, but no beauty. A Daytona or Testerrosa are objects of beauty, and while your SC is a notch down, it is still exotic.

 

The Ferrari 365 GTB/4, better known by the unofficial name Ferrari Daytona built from 68-73...was a black one on Miami Vice that was actually a replica based on a vette (later sold on eBay for hundreds of thousands) and later by some convincing with Ferrari, NBC allowed the new Testarossa to replace it in later shows to help sell the car!

 

It takes the Testarossa that much time to get to 60mph from zippo because shifting its tranny is like rowing a boat. You must have seen the way its gated shifter is designed, right? Give the Ferrari a slick shifting mechanism and it'll go a bit quicker. Given its specs., with a better designed shifter there's no reason why a Testarossa couldn't out sprint a similarly powered C4 Corvette ZR-1 in a drag race.

But yeah, either way I think anything that takes less than 6 seconds from 0 to 60mph is more than adequate for most of us.

Jon

 

engines are becoming more and more efficient.

 

I remember feeling betrayed one time when I was hanging out with a childhood friend who inherited his dad's 1981 Corvette Stingray and always thought that car was a bad boy and could outrun just about anything. We imagined as youngsters someday that a car like that would be the ultimate dream car and nothing could beat it.

Later, as adults I came over to his house and I had my 300ZX twin turbo with boost jets, chip, Stillen 3" solid pipes (catless too). We raced and it was ugly. Not only did GodZilla crush the vette, the cornering with HICAS on the Z was amazing while the vette was literally fishtailing all over just to take twists in the road. It wasn't good.

Later I was shocked to find out that vette only had like 225hp!! It was pretty light but the shifting was terrible and my Z was just zipping through the gears.

Funny how perception of "FAST" changes as you get older. I thought my 135hp 84 Toyota Supra MK II was "fast" at one time! LOL

 

I've driven both cars (An old TR and an SC430).

On paper they might be close, but I can assure you that the TR is nothing like the SC. Even if in a straight line they are close, that's about it.

 

So you found the 5.8 sec in an Sc to be slower than the 5.8 sec in the TR?

 

i dont know about ur location but in mine u c xk and sl all over the roads, but sc if i c at least 2 a week its a suprise. i personally think sc is more unique cuz its more rare.

 

Just so the kids will know what we are talking about, I post here, without charge, a few pictures of the Testarossa (which I think is Italian for "Red Head"). When introduced (1984), it was quite controversial, especially for the sculpting on the sides. Many, however, still think it's one of the great car designs of all time.