Testy at the Limits

I thought everyone would enjoy the article about an 85 Ferrari Testarossa. Please click on the link:

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...ad-test-review

The Testarossa is still one of my favorite cars of all time. However, its funny how C&D describes the experience so positively below:

"But no dispassionate dynamic analysis can convey much about the forza this car exerts on the road—or on your psyche. Numbers on a page don't press you into the seat with jetliner thrust or sweep you from 70 to 140 mph between clumps in the traffic. Nor can digits describe the menac*ing twitches of the tail that occur when you push the prodigious 0.87-g adhesion limit in a 100-mph sweeper. Cornering hard in a Testarossa is not for the faint of heart. A seat that gives up way too early and the threat of a mega-dollar spin-out constitute the real handling limit."

Kind of reminds me of the car we all love that gets no such treatment from the media.

Enjoy!

It was up to '96 and a whopping 390hp. Doesn't even seem worth driving since the Viper was 400hp and went to 450hp in 96.

I find it disingenuous how every car magazine slams the Viper for its tough to handle at the limits attitude. However, they lavish praise on the Testarossa for being such a driver’s car. That was all I was trying to say…God Bless the Testarossa and long live the Viper!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RTTTTed

It was up to '96 and a whopping 390hp. Doesn't even seem worth driving since the Viper was 400hp and went to 450hp in 96.

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I think the magazines are joking right? I've never driven a more driver friendly car. I like to feel the bumps and since a sluggish suspension handles as well as a slug, I appreciate the stiff ride. I added cupholders, Sat and Bluetooth stereo myself. I enjoy sitting in the driver's seat for 21 hrs at a session.

When the Testarossa was reviewed, we were just coming out of the emissions choked 190HP, luxury barge "sports car" era. There was virtually nothing on the road that did what the Testarossa could do. The only real competition was the Countach. Same could be said for the Gen I and II Vipers. When they debuted, there was very little that could hold a candle to them and they were the undisputed king of the hill.

The current Viper just doesn't have that. It's a great all around car, but in almost every measurable category, there is a car that does it better. This car even just five years ago would have been something special. Right now though, the Gen V Viper is a middle of the pack contender in the sports car world. The only thing it's king of in this day and age is showroom floor space.