by Mike –
While I was flipping through the December 1957 issue of Road & Track I came across the test drive report for the Ferrari TRC-2500 Testa Rossa. I knew that I had seen this car before although it looked a little bit different.
“Absolutely sensational” proclaimed the Road & Track writers at the article beginning.
Ferrari Testa Rossa TRC in 1957
I saw this car with the current owner Bruce Meyer in 2011. There is an interesting story behind this car but I am also fascinated with this road test report and with the changes in appearance since 1957.
The hood design has changed since 1957 – likely due to the differences in the engine. The wind screen is also different and there is a passenger seat now where it looks like maybe there was not one in 1957. This likely explains the difference in the wind screen design.
Ferrari Testa Rossa TRC in 2011 And Bruce Meyer
This car was owned at the time by John von Neumann. The test drive was done by Richie Ginther who also raced this car.
Ferrari Testa Rossa TRC in 1957
The dashboard layout looks the same. It is difficult to tell if there is a passenger seat in the 1957 photo but a passenger would not have the benefit of a wind screen so it is likely that there is not a passenger seat like there is today.
Ferrari Testa Rossa TRC in 2011
The car originally came with the Ferrari 2.5 liter 4-cylinder engine. This engine was a 2-liter that had been bored and stroked to 2.5 liters. I previously wrote that only two of these cars were made with this 2.5-liter engine but this article mentions that there were three in the US. So, another mystery around the Ferrari marque.
Ferrari Testa Rossa TRC in 1957 With The 2.5-Liter 4-Cylinder Engine
Ferrari Testa Rossa TRC in 2011 With The 3-Liter V12 Engine
In 1958 von Neumann installed a Ferrari 3-liter V12 engine. This is the engine the car has today thanks to a lot of detective work and searching by Bruce Meyer. He not only found the car that was lost but was also able to find the V12 engine that von Neumann had used.
Ferrari Testa Rossa TRC in 1957
The front end design looks the same to me. Very beautiful and it looks fast. According to Road & Track it was fast.
Ferrari Testa Rossa TRC in 2011
The article concluded with this statement “The Ferrari TRC-2500 is without a doubt the most sensationally performing sports car we have ever tested – and we have tested more sports cars than any one person or organization that we know of.”
Yep, I believe that.
This article was originally published in December 2012.
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