From about 1968 to 1973 people’s most favorite street car in Ferrari’s line was the elegant, front-engined 365GTB/4 and -GTS/4, commonly known as the Daytona. The introduction of Lamborghini’s mid-engined Miura changed all that, putting an unusual pressure on a car that had been alone until then. So in 1974 Ferrari matched Lamborghini’s Miura with their own mid-engined car, the Pininfarina-designed 365GT4/BB only to find that the Miura had been replaced with the even more outrageous Countach.
Ferrari decided something wild-looking was needed. Something to improve on the 512BB, and at the same time, snatch the public’s imagination away from the Countach. In close collaboration with Pininfarina they developed the 512’s successor the first Ferrari designed for the American market from the beginning.
It would be mid-engined like the 512, but the engine would be forward of the transmission, giving a lower center of gravity. It would have twelve cylinders, again in a flat configuration. It would be low, and wide, and have huge side intakes to feed air to the hungry powerplant and the side-mounted radiators. And it would be named after one of the legendary racing Ferraris of the ’50s the fabled (and fabulously valuable) 250 Testa Rossa.
To meet European regulations controlling the size of intake openings, and, more importantly, to leave an indelible print on the public’s imagination, Pininfarina covered the intakes with a grille of side slats, running horizontally along the doors. As you all know, it worked the slats instantly identified the car, and were copied on everything from Porsche 911s, Corvettes, and Lamborghini Countaches to pickup trucks. They set a very distinct styling trend for late ’80s rebody kits, which was generally a “me, too!” trend, but not in the case of the originator, the Testarossa.
Not everybody loved the car’s styling. Besides the slatted intakes, there were many controversial styling elements, often suggested by the wind tunnel. The huge, square flanks, fully six feet wide, swept forward and down in a curve that was claimed to create downforce at speed.
The traditional round Ferrari taillights were replaced by rectangular ones, covered with a grille of horizontal slats that echoed the intakes. Another of the more radical departures was the side mirror: the first samples had only one, on the driver’s side, and it was mounted high on the A-pillar, so the driver had to look up to see it.