If asked to close your eyes and conjure the image of an 1980s Maranello model, your neocortex will likely produce a visage of side-straked majesty in the form of a Ferrari Testarossa. It’s a model intrinsically wedded to the decade of its construction. Everyone from teenagers lusting over bedroom wall posters, to captains of industry catching a glimpse of their reflection in glass-fronted offices, none could help fawning over this most Ferrari of Ferraris.

The marketing power of its 1980s dream machine hadn’t diminished just because the decade rolled over either. The old design simply needed a few minor nips and tucks to keep it cutting edge. The Testarossa’s sharp edges were duly softened for its 1991 replacement, the 512 TR’s styling revisions overseen by Lorenzo Ramaciotti, who had taken over (in 1988 from Leonardo Fioravanti) as head of design at Pininfarina. The most recognisable 512 TR addition was its front bumper, which more closely aligned the big flat-12 GT with its smaller sports car sibling, the 348. Other styling tweaks included revised rear lights, new 18-inch alloy wheels, a black lower stripe delete and a new engine hood—initially remaining “Testarossa”-badged.

Numerous interior updates were needed to pass over the 1980s aesthetic baton to the 1990s, but the real 512 TR engineering heavy lifting was carried out underneath. The chassis was revised to allow both engine and transmission to sit 30 millimetres lower, improving the car’s centre of gravity and roll centre. While the displacement of the 512 TR’s inherited flat-12-cylinder engine remained the same as the Testarossa’s at 4,943 cc, its power had been increased––due to a higher compression ratio, revised porting and inlets, bigger valves, as well as Bosch Motronic M2.7 management—to a highly respectable 428 brake horsepower.

This exquisite 512 TR (serial number 96059) was first registered on 5 April 1993. The Ferrari was imported through Maranello Concessionaires of Egham for the motor retail magnate, Reg Vardy—it is noted as a demonstrator model, but is thought to have been used as the dealer’s personal car. It seems to remain in remarkably original order with only one concession to modern convenience in the form of a Bluetooth controller, added to the nearside ventilation outlet, while a neat cassette organiser sits within the centre console and a CD autochanger resides in the boot. The latter sits alongside a leather Ferrari toolkit.

Having had a succession of owners since this car’s first registration in 1993, its consigning owner has kept the Ferrari since 2021. It is offered with copies of its original order sheet and numerous workshop invoices spanning years of maintenance. Its most recent service was completed by Stratstone Ferrari Wilmslow in November 2023 at a cost of £2,994.

This low-mileage and tastefully specified 512 TR is a fine example of the penultimate generation of the Testarossa lineage.