Guide: Ferrari 512 TR
Background
By the beginning of 1992, the Testarossa was over eight years old.
Since its launch in late 1984, tastes had changed significantly and, as the 1990s dawned, Ferrari’s Flat 12 supercar began to look dated.
Curves and clean design were suddenly back in fashion; practically anything from the 1970s wedge era or the boxy 1980s dropped out of favour.
With this in mind, Ferrari presented an updated Testarossa at the Los Angeles Motor Show in January 1992.
Most notably, the new 512 TR had been given a cosmetic facelift and several mechanical upgrades to improve performance.
As a 1980s icon with the kind of outlandish features that were typical of the period, the Testarossa was not easy to freshen up. However, Pininfarina masterfully revitalised the original design to give it a new lease of life.
Unfortunately, the 512 TR was launched in the midst of a global recession that saw a slump in demand for high end motor cars.
Several rival firms had upped production to meet demand in the boom years when speculators drove prices to new heights. However, when the bottom dropped out of the market, a glut of heavily discounted nearly new cars hit forecourts.
At the height of the madness (in early 1990), some new Testarossas had changed hands for £500,000. This was an astonishing 500% mark up on the list price.
By mid 1992 though, unregistered cars could be bought for under £80,000.
Several big manufacturers teetered on the edge of bankruptcy, but Ferrari escaped relatively unscathed.
The 512 TR joined a model line up that included the 348, Mondial t and F40.
In little over two years, around 2000 were built.
Tellingly, the 512 TR outsold the all-new Lamborghini Diablo by around three to one.
Chassis
The Testarossa’s original welded tubular steel Tipo F110 AB chassis made way for a revised F110 HB unit.
The revamped chassis offered 13% more torsional rigidity.
To improve handling, the ride height was dropped and the engine / gearbox were mounted lower in the chassis.
As before, the engine and gearbox were located on a removable subframe that could be unbolted from the chassis for ease of maintenance.
Suspension was independent all round via unequal length wishbones, coil springs and new gas-filled telescopic shocks. Like its predecessor, the 512 TR came with twin spring / shock assemblies per side at back.
Anti-roll bars were installed at both ends.
The Testarossa’s ventilated disc brakes stayed. They had a 315mm diameter at the front and 310mm diameter at the rear.
Wheels went from a 16-inch to 18-inch diameter. The fronts were kept at 8-inches wide but the rears were expanded from 10 to 10.5-inches wide. These new Speedline rims featured a modern new five-spoke design and were originally shod with Pirelli P Zero tyres.
Compared to the Testarossa, track was 14mm wider at the front and 16mm narrower at the rear.
The fuel tank was reduced in size from 120-litres to 110-litres. As usual, it was mounted underneath the engine, up against the rear bulkhead.
Engine / Gearbox
The engine fitted to the 512 TR was extensively reworked.
Another dry-sumped, all-alloy, dual overhead camshaft 180° Flat 12, the new Tipo F113 D 040 power unit featured a revised block casting and redesigned four valve cylinder heads.
Compression was upped from 9.2:1 to 10.0:1.
The latest Bosch Motronic M2.7 engine management system was adopted.
Displacement was unchanged at 4942cc thanks to a bore and stroke of 82mm and 78mm respectively.
Peak output was 428bhp at 6750rpm and 362lb-ft at 5500rpm. In comparison, the original Testarossa produced 390bhp at 6300rpm and 354lb-ft at 4500rpm.
Transmission was via a five-speed manual gearbox with new ratios, a twin-plate hydraulic clutch and limited-slip differential.
Bodywork
During the Testarossa’s production life, a couple of tweaks had been made to the wing mirrors and wheels, but the general design had been left well alone.
By 1991 though, the 1980s love affair with brash styling had made way for a softer, more subtle design approach.
Pininfarina were given the task of facelifting the Testarossa and did a commendable job of updating arguably the eighties most recognisable supercar.
The model’s trademark slatted side intakes and tail fascia were retained, but there were several key changes.
A new front bumper was fitted which housed a re-shaped grille and more modern light clusters. Located underneath was a new chin spoiler with twin brake cooling ducts.
Like the side sills, the front spoiler was now painted body colour instead of satin black.
A redesigned back bumper was installed which, along with smoked tail light clusters, tidied up the rear.
As the engine and gearbox now sat lower in the chassis, Pininfarina were able to fit a low profile engine cover that featured a less pronounced power bulge.
A chromed Cavallino Rampante was mounted centrally on the slatted tail fascia along with a 512 TR script on the trailing edge of the engine cover.
Overall, this latest variant was 5mm shorter and stood 5mm lower than its predecessor.
Interior
The interior was also given a substantial makeover.
A more contemporary dash and centre console were fitted along with new door panels, a new steering wheel and redesigned seats that were mounted 13cm lower than before. There was also a new climate control system.
Directly behind the three-spoke non-airbag steering wheel was the primary instrument binnacle. It contained large read outs for engine and road speed with smaller gauges for oil pressure and water temperature in between.
A clock, fuel gauge and oil temperature read out were housed in a new central pod underneath a trio of ventilation outlets.
As before, the audio system was concealed behind a central pop-up flap.
Most of the switchgear was located on the centre console behind the open-gate gear lever.
Full leather upholstery, air-conditioning, electric windows, electric mirrors and a stereo were standard.
Options
Aside from interior and exterior colours, options were limited to a set of Schedoni luggage, split-rim three-piece wheels and a spacesaver spare wheel.
Weight / Performance
At 1473kg, the 512 TR was 33kg lighter than the outgoing Testarossa.
With its extra horsepower and torquier motor, performance was much-improved.
Top speed went from 181mph to 195mph.
The 0-62mph time dropped from 5.2 seconds to 4.8 seconds.
USA Version
US-specification 512 TRs came with an engine that produced 412bhp at 6750rpm.
These cars were identifiable by rectangular side markers on the fenders and an additional VIN plate on the door jam.
Launch
The 512 TR had already been shown to selected dealers by the time it was publicly unveiled at the Los Angeles Motor Show in January 1992.
The first customer cars (mostly US versions) were delivered in December 1991.
Production Changes
Changes made during production were few.
Early cars had a Testarossa badge mounted on the engine cover which was soon deleted.
In 1993, a switchable anti-lock brake system was added.
Around the same time, the AC Delco alternator and Bosch starter motor were replaced by Nippon Denso items.
In 1994, a stronger differential was fitted and the two-piece Pininfarina badge mounted down each flank was switched to rectangular one-piece badge.
512 TR Speciale
A batch of 512 TR Speciales were built for the Japanese market to celebrate 15 years of Cornes & Co. as the country’s official Ferrari importer.
These 15 cars all came with the three-piece split-rim wheels, a Scuderia Ferrari shield on each front fender and special dark red metallic paint.
End of Production
512 TR production continued until late 1994 when it was replaced by the F512 M.
2261 were completed to include 88 right-hand drive cars delivered to the UK.
512 TR Pininfarina Spider Speciale
Eleven right-hand drive 512 TRs were converted Spider specification by Pininfarina for the Sultan of Brunei.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Ferrari - https://www.ferrari.com
