Enzo Ferrari’s telling insight on his views of motor racing: “The result of a race is 50 percent due to the car. When the car has been made, you are only half way there. You now have to find a driver and it costs more to train a good racing driver than it does to make a car. When I decide to take part in a race, I don’t think about my competitors...
 

...I try to do my best, without telling myself ‘I must beat Mercedes or Maserati’. For me the importance of a race is the technical result, that is, whether – given the same course and the same atmospheric conditions – established records have been broken. If so, progress has been made.”
 

 
In the early sixties, Ferrari won Le Mans three consecutive years with the front-engine Testa Rossa. The last of these victories marked the end of an important era for Ferrari and sports car racing.
 

 
A Successful Racing Record
After their Le Mans victory, piloting the final and definitive Testa Rossa, Phil Hill and Olivier Gendebien become the last winners of the event in a front engine car. Only 34, 250 Testa Rossas were ever built - although this figure is debatable, as it also includes both prototypes as well as the only 330 TRI/LM.
 

 
Some Testa Rossas were manufactured purely as customer cars. Many of these would continue racing for years to come, often with great success in national and international competition.
 

 
Fine Sports Cars' customer Testa Rossa competizione cars will carry a hand-crafted all-alloy body constructed in our Italian workshops and mechanicals to the exact factory specifications as the original cars.
 

 
Fine Sports Cars' clients can select from the five distinct generations of Testa Rossa body styles and mechanical drive trains. As with all fine works of art, originality, documentation, and provenance ensures future value for our clients.
 

 
The first Testa Rossa was already a racing success when it was introduced in late 1957 and it went on to a string of numerous victories. But it was at Le Mans where the Testa Rossa established its reputation.

 
Starting at 4 pm, Le Mans races through the shortest weekend night of the year, at a latitude where the Midnight Sun is not an abstraction. It frequently drenches its competitors with rain. Sunrise comes early, only to remind competitors that the race is barely half over. Scion of the original French Grand Prix, it is the last great road race on closed public roads.
 

 
Scuderia Ferrari built its best Testa Rossas for Le Mans, winning in 1958 (Hill/Gendebien, s/n 0728), 1960 (Frere/Gendebien, TR 59/60 s/n 0772/0774), 1961 (Hill/Gendebien, TRI61 s/n 0794) and 1962 (Hill/Gendebien with 330 TRI/LM s/n 0808).
 

 
Four Distinct Generations of Testa Rossas Follow
The Scuderia Ferrari Testa Rossas evolved in four distinct generations after the two 290 MM- and 500 TRC-based prototypes. While the prototype, S/N 0666 had a deDion rear suspension, the other 1958 cars had live rear axles, left-hand drive and were bodied by Scaglietti with pontoon fenders. They were followed by a series of TR59s, now with envelope bodies designed by Pininfarina and constructed by Fantuzzi. The TRI60 followed, with similar bodies but now with independent rear suspension, indicated by the “I” (“Independente”) in their designation. They were superseded by the TRI61s, again bodied by Fantuzzi but now with the twin nostril nose carried over from the Scuderia’s GP cars and taller, squared-off tails with the ducktail spoiler which Ferrari’s empirical testing had found successfully improved performance and stability. The fifth and ultimate iteration of the Scuderia Ferrari Testa Rossas was not a “generation” at all, it was the unique 330 TRI/LM.

Ferrari’s First Testa Rossa
In late 1955, Ferrari’s 500 Mondial was up against Maserati’s new two-liter A6GCS and it was clear that it was not capable of handling the situation.
 

 
Shortly thereafter Ferrari introduced their new 500 Testa Rossa, so named because the cam covers were painted red. The bore and stroke and hence capacity of the Tipo 131 engine remained the same as the Mondial, however, instead of being based upon the Type 553 F2 engine, a reversion had been made to the head very much like that of the Type 500 but with a different cam cover. It had also been strengthened at the lower end.
 

An all new Tipo 518 chassis dropped the Mondial’s transaxle and de Dion rear suspension in favor of an engine-mounted transmission and a live rear axle located by parallel trailing arms and suspended by coil springs.

 
The 500 TR was extremely competitive in both Europe and the States with 17 examples being completed - all used the suffix “MD/TR”.
 

Pontoon 250 Testa Rossa
The Testa Rossa (Italian for “red head”) derives its evocative name from the fact that the cylinder heads of its V12 engine are colored red.
 

 
This hypnotic Testa Rossa is the creation of Sergio Scaglietti, a talented coachbuilder who had never formally trained as a stylist, but whose innate ability impressed Enzo Ferrari nonetheless.
 

 
Named for Its Pontoon Fenders

 
Scaglietti’s signature traits as seen in this 250 Testa Rossa include a long, torpedo-like body (with so-called pontoon fenders at the front), a tapered headrest and sleek covered headlights.
 

 
A black 250 Testa Rossa, number 0714TR, was successfully raced during the late 50's and early 60's in places like Brazil, Cuba, and Portugal, and after an active career now exists in this restored state, wearing it's factory black and red livery.
 

 
Every aspect of the black Pontoon 250 is factory perfect right down to the crackle finish on the valve covers of the snarling V12 with 300 bhp at 7,200 rpm.
 

 
The drive train consisted of a 2,953 cc single overhead cam Type 128 LM V12 engine, six Weber 38 DCN carburettors, four-speed manual gearbox, unequal A-arms, coil springs, and Houdaille hydraulic shock absorbers.
 

 
It also included anti-roll bar front suspension, live axle, semi elliptic leaf springs, Houdaille shock absorbers with four trailing arms rear suspension, and four-wheel drum brakes.

Pontoon 250 Testa Rossa Sold in 2009 at Auction
The world record for a Testa Rossa sold at auction in 2009 was for the black 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa no. 0714TR it fetched 9,020,000 Euro (more than USD$12 million) at the “Ferrari Leggenda e Passione” in Maranello, Italy.
 

 
Only 22 of these pontoon fender Testa Rossas were ever built, and after the 250 GTO, the 250 TR’s are considered the most desirable Ferrari's in history.
 

 
Fantuzzi 250 Testa Rossa Spyder
For 1959, Scaglietti was occupied with Ferrari’s burgeoning order bank for Ferrari 250 Berlinettas and Spyder Californias. So the Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa was redesigned by Pinin Farina but built by Medardo Fantuzzi. Fantuzzi, a heavyset man who had a way with a hammer and metal, began his apprenticeship with the Maserati firm in 1924 and stayed with the company until it withdrew from racing competition in 1957. Given his impressive reputation, he easily moved his coachbuilding shop under Ferrari where he made the coachwork for only two Testa Rossa models in 1961.
 

 
Some of Ferrari’s best-known cars were these later Testa Rossa models, such as the Spyder, a modified version of Scaglietti’s original.
 

 
The Fantuzzi Spyder raced to first place in the 12 Hours of Sebring less than two months after its completion, driven by America’s first world champion, Phil Hill. It was also about 100 pounds lighter. Mechanical improvements included a new five-speed gearbox in place of a four-speed, a limited slip differential, and disc brakes.
 

 
The season was an epic battle between the Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa and Aston Martin’s DBR1. The Ferrari won at Sebring and finished in the top five at the Nurburgring and Goodwood in England.
 

 
But that wasn’t enough to offset the DBR1’s Le Mans win and two other victories. Ferrari lost the constructors championship by two points.

For 1960, Ferrari improved the Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa by shortening the wheelbase, while Fantuzzi gave it lower coachwork and a full windshield to meet new regulations. Gendebien and Paul Frere won Le Mans in this 1960 TR, leading Ferrari to its sixth Constructors Sports World Championship in eight years. The 1960 Le Mans race also saw the unveiling of the Ferrari TRI 60. This had a shorter-still wheelbase and the model’s first independent rear suspension. It showed tremendous potential by running in the top five, often second or third, for 16 hours before retiring with gearbox problems.
 

The Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa was fully redesigned for 1961 with a new aerodynamic shape by Ferrari chief engineer Carlo Chiti.

 
Chiti had come to Ferrari in 1958 from Alfa Romeo. He brought with him a new degree of engineering sophistication, as evidenced by the scale model that was subjected to wind tunnel testing before Fantuzzi finalized the slippery new shape that became the Ferrari TRI 61.
 

 
Two TRI 61s were built. Hill and Gendebien won Le Mans and Sebring in one, the other finished second in both those marquee events. Coupled with successes by the Ferrari 250 SWB, Ferrari captured another sports-car world championship.
 

 
Ferrari’s 330 TRI/LM
The CSI and A.C.O. restructured rules and classifications for 1962, placing their emphasis upon GT cars and eliminating the 3-litre sports-racing class which the Testa Rossas had dominated. However, the displacement limit for GTs was increased to 4 litres and a new Experimental category was added with a 4-litre displacement limit.
 

 
Ferrari’s current sports-racers were by now mid-engined but Ferrari decided to create the “ultimate” Testa Rossa for the Experimental category, the 330 TRI/LM.
 

 
It had been thought for years that Ferrari based the chassis of the 330 TRI/LM on the modified frame of 250 TRI60/61 s/n 0780, however records recently discovered at Ferrari make it clear this was not the case. Invoicing from Ferrari’s frame supplier, Vaccari, reflecting the construction of a new frame specifically for the 4-litre 330 TRI/LM project show that 0808 was built on its own chassis, the same one still fitted, designed specifically to take advantage of the opportunity presented by the new rules – and to win Le Mans.

The 330 TRI/LM's Bold 4-liter Engine
Ferrari’s concept for the 4-litre 330 TRI/LM, and determination that it would be a serious challenger for the Experimental category, was clearly demonstrated by the decision to make the 330 TRI/LM a completely new, purpose-built car to carry the 4-litre engine.
 

The engine was a 390 bhp 3,967 cc single overhead camshaft V12 engine with six two-barrel Weber 42 DCN carburetors,
5-speed manual transmission, coil spring and wishbone independent front and rear suspension,
4-wheel disc brakes. Wheelbase 2,420 mm (95.3")

 
For Le Mans, #0808 was entered in an experimental class which made their primary opposition a trio of Maserti Tipo 151s, one of Maserati's final front engine designs. When all the Maseratis dropped out by the half way point, the 330 had an obvious advantage and finished 42 miles ahead of the second place 250 GTO.
 

330 TRI/LM: Last of Ferrari's Front-Engined Sport Racing Cars
The win at Le Mans was a rather obvious outcome as #0808 was made of tried and tested components that worked well with the limits of the experimental class regulations. Hill and Gendebien led for virtually the entire race to win their third Testa Rossa victory at Le Mans in a row. A stunning record! After the 1962 season, and their highlight victory at Le Mans with #0808, Ferrari retired the Testa Rossa line which was replaced by the 250P, Ferrari's first prototype with a midship V12. #0808 was not only built as the last Testa Rossa but also the last front-engined Ferrari sports racer of any kind.

 
Driven by the incomparable endurance racing pairing of Phil Hill and Olivier Gendebien, the 330 TRI/LM was the last front-engined car to capture the overall victory at Le Mans, and the Hill/Gendebien team’s epic third Le Mans win.
 

 
It is, in so many important and meaningful ways, unique. The 1962 Ferrari 330 TRI/LM just may be the ultimate Ferrari Testa Rossa.
 

This is a rare opportunity for enthusiasts to take delivery of a unique car that was produced in very limited numbers, has a timeless design, a Le Mans race pedigree, and historic significance.  

 
Fine Sports Cars' clients can select from the five distinct generations of Testa Rossa body styles and mechanical drive trains. Each car will be hand-crafted in our Italian workshops by local artisans to the original factory specifications. These automobiles are being constructed using the customers Ferrari donor automobile, or a Ferrari donor car from our inventory.

Rarity Index: 34 cars – 5 different generations

Current Value of an Original 250 Testa Rossa: $7 - $16 million
Current Value of an Original 500 Mondial: $2.4 million
Keith Martin's Sports Car Market auction price guide (2010)
 

Fine Sports Cars' documentation includes:
• An original chassis plate and door plate from the donor car
• A personalized numbered chassis plate
• A numbered door plate detailing the place of origin and the manufacturer
• A signed certificate of authenticity which documents the place of manufacture, the originality of the donor car, and the history of the car model
• A complete list of specifications and parts

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