Ferrari Testarossa: The Reason Behind the Strakes

The Testarossa appeared in 1984. In a later interview hosted with Pininfarina, Leonardo Fioravanti recalled the problems of the earlier Berlinetta Boxer: a large front radiator took up luggage space, while the cooling arrangement contributed heat to the cabin. Moving the cooling ducts to the sides, closer to the engine, helped set the direction for the new design.

Fioravanti described extensive aerodynamic work to make air enter through the doors and the area immediately behind them. The famous side treatment therefore belongs to a functional design story as well as to the car's visual identity. It gives a collector something more substantial to consider than an association with the 1980s. Classic Driver: interview with Testarossa designer Leonardo Fioravanti.

The JPC model is red, with silver-colored wheels and a cream interior. In profile, the dark strakes appear to pull the whole body rearward. The rear three-quarter photograph carries that horizontal rhythm into the wide tail.

With the door open, the same design breaks into separate physical pieces. You can follow where the strakes cross the door and where the fixed rear intake begins. That is one of the small pleasures of an opening miniature: a familiar outline becomes a construction you can study.

This sequence keeps the raised headlights in view before moving inside. The cream seat and door trim give the cabin warmth, while the dark dashboard prevents the interior from reading as a single light-colored block. The open rear cover then presents the engine detail from above.

The subject here is the Testarossa represented by this Kyosho release. Ferrari used the related 512 TR and F512 M names for later developments; preserving the original model identity makes comparisons across that family more useful. Pair this gallery with the Countach for two very different approaches to the wide, low Italian car.