Ferrari->ke252 is not a company that often reuses names, or revives dead nameplates. This is partly because so many of the names of the cars are alphanumeric, but also because Ferrari wants to present each car as new and advanced, and that's a lot harder to do when you're recycling names. So when a name does get recycled, it has to be a pretty special one. So even though today the name Testarossa->ke2391 is most closely associated with Ferrari's flat-12-powered grand tourer from the '80s and early '90s, but the name actually goes all of the way back to 1957, with one of the greatest race cars->ke148 in Ferrari history.

It actually has to be said that the names aren't actually identical. The racer was named “Testa Rossa” (two words) and the more recent car was the “Testarossa” (one word). This is important because the meaning is slightly different. The words “testa rossa” mean “red head,” and the original 250 TR got the name from its red valve covers. But just as “redhead” as one word in English means a woman with red hair, the Italian name was given to the '80s car both as a tribute and also with an implied wink.

Continue reading to learn more about the Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa Prototype.

1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa Prototype

Specifications
  • Make: Array
  • Model: 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa Prototype
  • Engine/Motor: V12
  • [do not use] Vehicle Model: Array
Pros
Cons

Exterior

By the time the 250 Testa Rossa came into existence, the norm at Ferrari was to have cars styled by Pininfarina and actually built by Scaglietti this made things easier for Ferrari because Scaglietti's factory was located just across the street from Ferrari's. But Ferrari went with an even easier option for race cars that didn't need Pininfarina's eye to customer-oriented aesthetics, and just had Scaglietti design the car as well as build it. This sounds like something Ferrari did because the way that the car looked wasn't quite so important, but in fact, the Testa Rossa body ended up being one of the most iconic Ferraris of all time, and is still considered Scaglietti's greatest design.

The pontoon-fendered 250 TR design was, by Sergio Scaglietti's own admission, not very aerodynamic. But he went with the design because more because he liked the way it looked, and that was a perfectly normal thing for an Italian designer to do at that time. Probably a good part of the reason why Italy has produced so many iconic cars. It should be noted that it is only the early 250 Testa Rossas that have the iconic body, and in 1961 the car got a complete redesign that made it look a lot more like the road-going 250s.

Exterior Dimensions

Wheelbase

2,350 MM (92.51 Inches)

Front track

1,308 MM (51.49 Inches)

Rear track

1,300 MM (51.18 Inches)

Weight

800 KG (1,763.7 LBS)


Interior

While you might find the occasional race car with a full interior, this is not one of them. Though technically road legal, this being an era when rules for this kind of thing were pretty loose, the Testa Rossa is pure race car. That means that there isn't so much as a roof, and the interior contains nothing that isn't necessary. Still, high quality materials were used, and the seats were usually covered in leather and the steering wheel was wood.

Drivetrain

When Ferrari started developing the 250 Testa Rossa in 1957, Jaguar was the king of Le Mans, and in 1957, the mighty D-Type would take another overall win. But rule change was in the works that would limit engine displacement to 3.0 liters, thus disqualifying the Jaguars and their big inline-6 engines. This was the perfect opportunity for Ferrari and its 2953cc version of the Colombo V-12. A few other engines were actually considered for the Testa Rossa, but the SOHC engine out of the Tour de France car ended up being picked. And considering how many races the Tour de France car was winning, this makes a lot of sense. The engine was given 6 two-barrel Weber carburetors, and compression was up to an impressive 9.8:1. The resulting 300 horsepower was plenty for the 1,750-pound car. The 250 Testa Rossa took overall wins at Le Mans in 1958, 1960 and 1961, as well as most other European endurance races at the time.

The Testa Rossa, as well as most other Ferrari race cars during this period, was best on European tracks. The car would race in the U.S. too, but American tracks tended to be shorter and with more twists and turns. Cars with bigger V-8s usually had more horsepower and low-end torque to help them power out of turns, and these kinds cars had a natural advantage on these sorts of tracks.

Drivetrain Specifications

Type

front, longitudinal 60° V12

Bore/stroke

73 x 58.8 mm

Unitary displacement

246.10 cc

Total displacement

2953.21 cc

Compression ratio

9.8 : 1

Maximum power

300 HP @ 7,200 RPM

Power per liter

102 hp/l

Valve actuation

twin overhead camshafts per bank, two valves per cylinder

Fuel feed

six Weber 38 DCN carburettors

Ignition

single spark plug per cylinder, two coils


Prices

The 250 Testa Rossa is currently the second most valuable Ferrari ever made, making it also pretty high up on the list of most valuable cars of all time. The most ever paid for one at auction was $16.39 million, back in 2011. Rumors of more having been paid in private sales exist, but can't be verified. Nonetheless, should the rumors of an unrestored 1957 250 Testa Rossa selling for $39.8 million in 2014 be true, it would mean the car is potentially much more valuable than even the huge price it already commands at auction. Only 34 units of the car were ever made, but it's the 19 units of the original body style that are the really valuable ones. Of those, the two Ferrari works cars are worth more still. But even the least valuable 250 TR will be probably sell for no less than $8 million.

Competition

Aston Martin DBR1

You might have noticed a gap in the years where the 250 won at Le Mans. There was no overall win for Ferrari in 1959 because of the Aston Martin DBR1 and a certain driver by the name of Carroll Shelby. It also took wins at Spa and the Nurburgring, and was generally considered to be the 250's biggest rival. A slightly larger version of the car's engine would go into the DB4, and that's why that car was always as awesome as it was.

Read our full review on the Aston Martin DBR1 here.

AC Ace->ke1357

AC was a small British sports car maker that kept just missing out on podium finishes in the late '50s and early '60s. Ferrari must have taken special notice because the Ace's styling was very similar to that of the Ferrari 166 Barchetta from the late '40s. The cars were light and handled well, but they just couldn't match the power of the newer Ferraris. With a little help from Shelby, the Ace's successor, the Cobra, would turn out to be a major threat to the prancing horse, but that wouldn't be for a few years.

Conclusion

The 250 Testa Rossa is an easy car to love. The combination of unusual styling and a winning racing record is how classics are made. The Testa Rossa also has that charm of being a race car that was designed to look good, and aerodynamics be damned. It was the starting point of Ferrari dominance of Le Mans, and is tremendously historically significant. Whether or not that makes it worth the tremendous amounts of money that change hands when one is sold is very possibly a different question, but it isn't surprising.