1988 Ferrari Testarossa review from North America

Testarossa: Careful with this lady, mostly made of delicate aluminum. Dings can appear especially on hood/trunk.

Mechanically solid, however most wear comes from seldom use and long seasons of sitting in the climate control garage. You can also see signs of wear from polish, cleaning and other worship type ceremonies.

None power steering, and manual gate shifter make it nearly impossible to enjoy coffee or cell phone conversations.

Testarossa: The heart beat of this machine is the 5 liter flat 12 power plant. If Ferrari were to produce this today it would cost over 500,000.

The Testarossa provides the total experience, current Ferraris seem to have lost, forgotten, or simply left out. That experience it the combined rack/pinion steering, manual five speed, and aggressive style. The powerful flat 12, gives no back talk. Push the accelerator and it accelerates. Because the driver is so involved in the driving it takes no time to feel connected even intimate with the Testarossa. This Ferrari has soul.

When I selected the Testarossa I was looking to buy a 360 Modena F 1. However the style, the ride, the joy of driving the Testarossa superseded that of the 360. Although the 360 is a refined machine I feel it will follow the same path as the other Ferraris in its class, the 308, 328. 348 and the 355. The Testarossa, although far less refined will probably stand as the definitive Ferrari for my generation.