1990 Ferrari Testarossa on 2040-cars

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Weekly Recap: Ferrari, Ford and Porsche power up for Geneva

Monday was Groundhog Day. Tuesday, apparently, was Sports Car Day. The Ferrari 488 GTB, the Ford Focus RS and the Porsche Cayman GT4 all debuted within hours of each other ahead of their rollouts at the Geneva Motor Show. Three sporty machines, three vastly different approaches – and a lot of implications for enthusiasts. That's a day worth repeating. It also illustrates the opportunities automakers see in the performance market, which is expected to grow in the coming years. Ford estimates the segment has expanded 14 percent in Europe and surged 70 percent in North America since 2009. The Detroit Auto Show was evidence of this, and performance cars of every stripe debuted, including the Acura NSX, Ford GT, Alfa Romeo 4C Spider and several others. This isn't a fad. Performance cars aren't going away. The question is why? Stricter CAFE standards are looming in the United States, as are tighter emissions regulations in Europe. And no one expects gas prices to remain low in America. None of this matters for sports cars, and automakers are increasingly using them to elevate their images. That's why Dodge rolled out two 707-horsepower Hellcats last year. It's why Ford has decided to resurrect the GT for road and track. It's why in the depths of bankruptcy, General Motors continued work on the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, not to mention the Z06. "Great brands are made one car at a time," Ford of Europe president Jim Farley said at the reveal of the Focus RS. Still, companies make those cars for different reasons. View 5 Photos Mainstream brands like Ford and Dodge want to build cars that get people talking, excite their bases and drive more potential customers into the showroom. They probably don't buy a Focus RS or a Hellcat, but suddenly the regular Focus hatch looks a bit hotter, and that V6 Charger seems to be just a touch more muscular. The halo of performance is alive and well in the eyes of automakers and their customers. "It's one of the most effective catalysts for ingenuity and innovation," said Joe Bakaj, vice president of product development for Ford of Europe. That also leads to a trickle-down effect. Some of the technologies inevitably make their way to other products. It's hard to think the new all-wheel-drive system in the Focus RS that distributes torque front to rear and side to side won't be used in other vehicles. It's different for Ferrari and Porsche.

Ferrari Classiche brings priceless crashed 250 GTO back to life [w/video]

When a car is worth millions of dollars, you don't simply write it off when it's damaged – you have it painstakingly repaired. But when that car's worth tens of millions, there's hardly any expense to be spared in its restoration. So after a rare Ferrari 250 GTO crashed a couple of years ago during a special event, its owner (presumably at the behest of his insurance company) sent the damaged specimen back to the factory for a full restoration to its original condition. The Ferrari in question, GTO No. 3445, is owned by American collector Christopher Cox, who was driving it during a special tour in France organized for the legendary sports racer's 50th anniversary when he collided with another car – fortunately not another one of the GTOs on the road – inflicting significant damage on the highly coveted collector's item. That was two-and-a-half years ago, and shortly after the accident, Cox entrusted it to the Ferrari Classiche division, which is responsible for restoring classic Prancing Horses and certifying their authenticity. Now the repairs and restoration are complete, right down to the Swedish blue and yellow livery it was originally give in April 1963 by Ulf Norinder and the number 112 he gave it for the 1964 Targa Florio. Spending over two years restoring a single automobile may seem like overkill to most, but considering the $52 million said to have been paid the last time a GTO traded hands, and the $30 million spent on the one before that, suddenly two years doesn't seem like that long after all. Watch the reconditioned car undergoing its final, post-restoration shakedown around the Fiorano circuit in the video below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Lady in Blue A stunning 250 GTO is restored by the Classiche department Maranello, 28 November 2014 – One of the stars of the tracks of the 1960s was a Ferrari 250 GTO which has just emerged from a two-year-plus renovation at the Ferrari Classiche department, ready to return to its owner in America. During its stay in Maranello, the car was restored to the original engine and bodywork configuration in which it was delivered to Bologna-based publisher Luciano Conti in 1962. The latter also drove it in its maiden race, the Bologna-Passo della Raticosa. The Volpi era. In June 1962, however, Chassis no. 3445 was sold to Count Giovanni Volpi di Misurata, a passionate racing driver, who competed under the S.S.S.

Why the Ferrari Testarossa deserves some respect

Join us for a moment in putting on our way-back hats, zeroing in on the late 1980s. Imagine that you're in your bedroom. Look over at the wall across from your bed. What car do you see on the poster? If you're anything like us, it's a Lamborghini Countach - in fact, it's a trio of Lamborghini Countach models in an array of colors. Oh, and there's also a 1:18-scale diecast Countach in black sitting on our dresser with its scissor doors locked in a skyward embrace.
Of course, the Raging Bull wasn't Italy's only great supercar from the 1980s, especially if you cast your lot at the temple of the Prancing Horse. The Ferrari Testarossa, as pointed out in the latest video from Petrolicious, is an oft unsung hero penned from the stuff boyhood dreams are made of. Far from a *ahem* red-headed stepchild, the Testarossa deserves a place in the minds and hearts of '80s supercar fans the world over.
Scroll down below to watch vintage car collector Joe Ventura talk about the Ferrari Testarossa with beautifully bright red Italian design serving as a fitting backdrop.