Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa

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Testa Rossa model 1958 ( Boston Museum of Fine Arts )
Ferrari 250 TR 61 Spyder Fantuzzi, Boston Museum of Fine Arts
Rear view of the Ferrari 250 TR 61 Spyder Fantuzzi, Boston Museum of Fine Arts

The Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa or TR for short is a racing sports car built in various versions by the Italian car manufacturer Ferrari from 1957 to 1961 . The name Testa Rossa ("red head") goes back to the red valve covers of the engines. A Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa from 1957 was auctioned on May 17, 2009 for the equivalent of 9.02 million euros in Maranello .

250 Testa Rossa (1956/57)

Since the sports car world championship was held according to new rules from 1957 (engine capacity 3 liters), Ferrari presented the 250 Testa Rossa, a further development of the four-cylinder Ferrari 500TR , with a three-liter V12, which was tailored to this racing class in November 1956 .

The shape of the light aluminum body was designed by Pinin Farina , and it was built by the Scaglietti bodybuilder . Typical of the early Testa Rossa was the “pontoon shape” of the front fenders, which were detached from the body behind the front wheels.

The three-liter V12 with an overhead camshaft per cylinder bank from the Ferrari 250 performed here, 9.8: 1 compressed, with six Weber 38DCN carburettors and single ignition 221 kW (300 PS) at 7200 rpm. The power was transmitted to the rear wheels via a four-speed gearbox.

By July 1958, a total of 19 customer versions of the 250 Testa Rossa had been built.

TR 58

The factory cars for the 1958 season had a De-Dion axle at the rear and some had a pontoon and some had a body with integrated front fenders. Four copies were built.

TR 59

On the 1959 models, the engine was shifted slightly to the left to make room for a new five-speed gearbox. The bodies were created at Carrozzeria Fantuzzi based on a Pinin Farina design. Five more cars were made.

TR 59/60

Three cars from the 1959 season were later given a shortened frame (wheelbase 2280 instead of the previous 2350 mm), new Fantuzzi bodies with a higher windshield and a four or five-speed gearbox on the DeDion rear axle instead of being locked to the engine.

TRI 60

In the TRI 60, the wheelbase was further shortened to 2250 mm and the rear rigid axle was replaced by an independent suspension with double wishbones with coil springs; the five-speed gearbox was behind the engine. Two pieces of this version were built.

TR 61

The TR 61 received a new tubular space frame, a wheelbase of 2324 mm, independently suspended rear wheels and a front five-speed gearbox as well as the nose with a split grille preferred by race engineer Carlo Chiti . Three vehicles were built.

Racing history

In 1958, the 250 TR won the Le Mans 24-hour race with an average speed of just under 170 km / h. The V12 engine with a displacement of just 3 liters developed 300 hp (221 kW), and later up to 390 hp (287 kW) from a 3.9 liter displacement.

gallery

  • An original Testa Rossa at the IAA 2019

  • ... at the AvD Oldtimer Grand Prix 2009

  • cockpit

literature

  • Godfrey Eaton: The Complete Ferrari . Cadogan Books, London 1985, ISBN 0-947754-10-5 , pp. 88-91.

Web links

Commons : Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa  - Collection of images, videos and audio files