Reporting for the April 2009 issue, Goodfellow writes:

Still pinned in the seat and with 6500rpm rapidly approaching, shift into second. That split-second when you shift is one of the most heavenly events you’ll ever experience in any car, equalling or bettering the feeling of flooring the pedal of a Bugatti Veyron for the first time or running a 250GTO past 8000rpm. The 12-cylinder symphony that bellowed at ten-tenths is momentarily muted as revs drop, the sudden silence bringing the sound of the whining gearbox to fore. You feel a slight catch as you shift out of first and hit neutral, then another slight catch as the lever slots into second. Right foot back on the floor now, and the crashing wave of unabated acceleration and spine-tingling 12-cylinder, four-trumpeting-exhaust symphony once again blankets your being.

[…]

Blast down a straight, brake hard (this car cheats a bit here, for it was fitted with discs at the time of our drive, soon to be changed back to the original drums) and then enter a hairpin. Stand hard on the gas as you exit the turn; the rear hunkers down as the steering wheel slides through your fingers as it quickly centers. The sensation of it all is as fluid and surreal as anything I’ve experienced. And all the while you are looking out over one of the best automotive road views ever – those curvaceous fenders, long hood and sloping metal covering the carbs.

And so on. Please make note of Goodfellow’s comparisons — to a Veyron and a 250 GTO. I imagine his life is that of a hopeless cubicle-dweller.

On a sad note, Octane do not appear to put their old articles online so I’m afraid you’ll have to hunt down a copy of their April 2009 issue to get the rest. Or you can try and pry mine from my cold, dead fingers.

Photo Credit: Darin Schnabel/Octane

As we told you earlier this year, with only 21 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa with the Scaglietti designed pontoon fender body, chassis no. 0714TR is more rare than the 36 250 GTO's made. Add to that the very unique and quite sexy black and red paint, the great history — it was the fourth Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa built, the second customer car and is in absolutely pristine restored condition — and you've got one hot piece o' auction action.

Sure enough, yesterday when returning to its Maranello birthplace for the auction debut, the '57 Ferrari sold for €9,020,000 ($12.156 Million). That's €1,980,000 ($2.668 Million) more than the previous auction world record set at this same sale last year.

MARANELLO, Italy, May 17 /PRNewswire/ — RM Auctions, in association with Sotheby's made history at the Ferrari factory in Maranello today as a 1957 Ferrari 250 TR, chassis no. 0714TR sold for € 9,020,000 at the third-annual Ferrari Leggenda e Passione event to set a new world record for the most expensive motor car ever to be sold at auction.

Returning to its Maranello birthplace for its auction debut, the euro 9,020,000 sale price represents euro 1,980,000 more than the previous auction world record which was set at the same sale last year.

"The historical significance of this car attracted a bidding war as collectors from around the world - both in the room and on the telephone - competed to secure one of the most alluring and iconic of all Ferrari racing cars," said Max Girardo, Managing Director of RM Europe.

"The eyes of the world were watching today's sale as cars of this quality are so rarely offered to the market. The rarity and the provenance of the Testa Rossa speaks for itself and the price we achieved today is testament to that. We are delighted with the result the car achieved today," he added.

1957 Ferrari 250 TR

300 bhp at 7,200 rpm, 2,953 cc single overhead cam 60? Type 128 LM V-12 engine, six Weber 38 DCN carburettors, four-speed manual gearbox, unequal A-arms, coil springs, Houdaille hydraulic shock absorbers and anti roll bar front suspension, live axle, semi elliptic leaf springs, Houdaille shock absorbers with four trailing arms rear suspension, four-wheel drum brakes. Wheelbase: 2,350 mm (92.5 in.)

"The result of a race is 50 percent due to the car. When the car has been made, you are only half way there. You now have to find a driver and it costs more to train a good racing driver than it does to make a car. When I decide to take part in a race, I don't think about my competitors. I try to do my best, without telling myself ‘I must beat Mercedes or Maserati'. For me the importance of a race is the technical result, that is, whether – given the same course and the same atmospheric conditions – established records have been broken. If so, progress has been made."

Enzo Ferrari's telling insight on his views of motor racing.

In 1957 the Commissione Sportiva Internationale (CSI) had been contemplating new rules to make sports car racing safer after the disaster at Le Mans in 1955 and Alfonso de Portago's crash in the 1957 Mille Miglia, in which he and his co-driver, along with nine spectators were killed. Despite this appalling accident, Ferrari went on to take The Sports Car Championship at the final round at Caracas. The team had begun the year with the 3.8-litre 315 S, which was later developed into the 4.0-litre 335 S. Ferrari's mind was already on his next creation – which would be one of his finest.

Anticipating a reduction in capacity for sports cars by the CSI for the 1958 season, Ferrari began working on a car powered by the 2,953 cc, 250 GT, V-12 engine. Ferrari first used the name Testarossa on the four-cylinder 500 TR. The name "red head" was used because the car's cam covers were painted red. The new V-12 car, developed under Carlo Chiti's engineering team, was intended by Enzo Ferrari as a more powerful version of the four-cylinder car retaining similar handling characteristics and tremendous reliability. This robustness had been proven on the 250 GT unit with a single overhead camshaft. Chiti revised the cylinder head design, fitted high compression pistons, special conrods and six Weber twin choke carburettors.

The first prototype, chassis number 0666, fitted with an envelope body similar to the 290 MM, appeared at the Nürburgring in 1957 and was tried by all the Ferrari works drivers. Olivier Gendebien set the sixth fastest time, no small feat against the more powerful Aston Martins and sister Ferrari team cars. The car finished a disappointing tenth, driven by Masten Gregory and Olindo Morolli who was given the drive at the last minute and was somewhat out of his depth.

The second Testarossa prototype, chassis number 0704, was bodied by Scaglietti and caused a sensation when it appeared at Le Mans. With its distinctive pontoon fenders, the car was said to be one of Scaglietti's very favourite designs. Ferrari's coach building artisan explained, "Formula 1 was the inspiration for the shape, there were pods on the sides of the F1 cars, (Ferrari Lancia D50) and while I wouldn't call them aerodynamic, they went well. We used a similar idea by designing the body to bring air in towards the brakes to cool them. In many ways the Ferrari 250 Testarossa was a Formula 1 car with fenders."

At Le Mans in June 1957 both prototypes suffered problems with new pistons. 0666 failed to start and 0704 retired, having run as high as second place. In Venezuela, during the final round of the championship, its potential was finally proven. Wolfgang von Trips and Wolfgang Seidel finished third in 0666 with Maurice Trintignant and Gendebien in fourth with 0704.

1958 would prove to be the 250 Testarossa's absolute pinnacle. The factory cars won four of the six races to secure Ferrari's third consecutive World Sports Car Championship for Constructors. Phil Hill and Peter Collins won in Argentina and again at the Sebring 12-Hours. Victory at the Targa Florio was taken by Luigi Musso and Gendebien and the 24 Hours of Le Mans was won by Gendebien and Hill.

For 1959 the Testarossa's bodywork was redesigned by Pinin Farina and built by Fantuzzi, Scaglietti having been sidelined by the increased output of Ferrari road cars. While the TR59 of Dan Gurney, Chuck Daigh, Hill and Gendebien took victory at Sebring in March there were to be no further wins and Ferrari finished second to Aston Martin in the Championship.

In 1960 Testarossas won at Argentina (Hill/Gendebien) and Le Mans (Gendebien/Paul Frere) and took the Championship once again. Although the 330 TRI/LM would win at Le Mans in 1962 with Hill and Gendebien, 1961 was really the car's swansong as a works entered car. Hill and Gendebien won at Sebring and Le Mans and Lorenzo Bandini and Giorgio Scarlatti won at Pescaro in the TR61 prototype.

Only 34 250 Testarossas were ever built, although this figure is debatable, as it also includes both prototypes as well as the 330 TRI/LM. Some were manufactured purely as customer cars. Many of these would continue racing for years to come, often with great success in national and international competition.

The car presented here, 0714, is the fourth Ferrari 250 Testarossa built and the second customer car. Finished in white, it was sold new to Piero Drogo who was then living in Modena. Although born in Vignale Monferrato, a small town near Alessandria in Piedmont, the Drogo family emigrated to Venezuela. Drogo raced extensively on the South American continent in sports cars and saloons. He finished seventh in the 1956 Venezuelan Grand Prix and later returned to Italy where he worked as a mechanic for Stanguellini in Modena. In 1960 he drove a Cooper Climax in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, finishing eighth. In the early sixties he started Carrozzeria Sports Cars. They produced bodies for the stunning P3 and P4 Ferraris and the square-backed car which became affectionately known as the "Breadvan".

Ferrari 250 Testarossa chassis number 0714 was immediately modified by Drogo after he bought it. He added air scoops underneath the doors to help cool the rear brakes. His first race in the car was the 1958 1000 Kilometres at Buenos Aires, Argentina. The car was shipped to South America along with a factory car, ready for competition. Drogo had a trouble-free race in 0714 finishing a highly credible fourth overall with co-driver Sergio Gonzalez. Drogo's next race in this TR was at the infamous 1958 Cuban Grand Prix in Havana. Juan Manuel Fangio had been kidnapped by Fidel Castro's revolutionaries and the race was marred by a terrible accident. The event was abandoned amidst chaos and Drogo was classified 13th.

0714 was shipped back to Europe and competed in some minor events before being rebuilt and eventually repainted red. Drogo raced the car for the last time at the XII Circuito Internacional Vila Real in Portugal. 0714 was then sold via Luigi Chinetti to Alan Connell of Fort Worth, Texas in November 1958. Piero Drogo was later killed driving his 365 GTC Coupé in 1973. He ran into the back of a truck that had broken down in an unlit tunnel near Bologna. He was 46 years old.

In 1959, prior to campaigning 0714, Connell had the car painted black with a very distinctive red nose, in the same style as his Maserati 250S. Connell raced 0714 extensively across the United States in SCCA National events. At the Pensacola National he was third overall and second in class. Fourth overall and second in class at Virginia International Raceway. Tenth and second in class at Cumberland and at Bridgehampton was seventh and took his first class victory. Another class victory was achieved at the next race at Elkhart Lake, with fifth overall. Buckley, Colorado saw a fourth and second in class, a result repeated at Riverside. At the Riverside Kiwanis GP he was eighth and fourth in class and he finished fourth overall and first in class at Montgomery. Connell easily won the Class D Modified title in 1959 and he often raced the Testarossa at Regional events. He was a very capable driver and took an outright victory at Mansfield, Louisiana.

Eventually this fabulous Testarossa was returned to Chinetti's in New York. The car was rebuilt and sold to Washington, D.C. resident Charlie Hayes. Hayes dropped a valve at the Thompson National in 1960 but finished second in a Regional at Vineland, New Jersey and fifth at Marlboro, Maryland. Hayes had the car repainted white at the end of the season and sold it to Carl Haas in Chicago. It was then purchased by Wayne Burnett who repainted the car red.

Burnett was a journeyman driver and while he competed in nine National events during the 1961/62 seasons his best finish was sixth at the Meadowdale National in 1962. He fared better in the Regionals finishing second at Wilmot Hills, second at Minneapolis, an outright win at Lawrenceville, Illinois, and a third back at Wilmot Hills.

In 1962, the original engine 0714 was removed and the dry sump unit from 0770 TR was installed. Disc brakes were added as well as a clear TR59 type carburettor cover. Burnett raced the car six times in 1963, finishing eighth at Elkhart Lake and with Luke Stear co-driving, 12th in the 500-mile race at the same circuit.

The car was eventually acquired by Robert Dusek of Solebury, Pennsylvania in 1970 and was restored back to its original specification and colour, reunited with engine 0714. In 1977 the Testarossa was shown by Dusek at the 14th Annual Ferrari Club of America National meeting at Watkins Glen.

In August 1984 Ferrari 250 Testarossa 0714 was sold to Yoshijuko Hayashi in Japan and in January 1995 was acquired by Yoshiho Matsuda from Tokyo. The same year Matsuda showed the car at Suzuka at the Forza Ferrari meeting. Partnered by Oyaizu, this car competed in the Mille Miglia in 1995 and 1996. Matsuda also drove it at the Monterey historic races at Laguna Seca in 1996.

In 1998 the car was back in action at the Neko Historic Automobile Event at Honda's Twin Ring Motegi Circuit. It competed again the following year. Also in 1999, 0714 was at the tenth anniversary meeting of the Ferrari Club of Japan at Suzuka.

In 2004 the car was shown at The Quail in Carmel Valley and displayed at the Ferrari Club of America Laguna Seca track event. More recently 0714 has benefitted from a re-spray back to black and red – the same livery in which the car competed in so many races in the 1950s and 1960s. Furthermore, the car has been overhauled by marque specialists ensuring that it is ready to be enjoyed on rallies or track events in America and Europe.

RM Auctions has had the pleasure of test driving 0714 and confirms that the car performed beautifully. The steering is light and the throttle response is immediate, giving the driver the feeling that the 12-cylinder engine is more than willing to power through the revs to the 8000 rpm redline. The symphony of the powerplant matched with the growl from the megaphone exhausts will make any enthusiast's hair stand on end. The reverse lock-out, four-speed all-synchromesh gearbox is very precise and confidence inspiring. Easier to drive than a Ferrari 250 GTO and perhaps much more rewarding thanks to its more favourable power to weight ratio, 0714 is a truly fantastic racing car. Not only is the performance breathtaking, but the view over the bonnet when driving is simply one of the best in the world.

It is the fourth of about 34 cars produced and the second customer car built. Moreover, it is one of only 21 cars to feature the desirable pontoon fenders and as such is considerably rarer than the famed 250 GTO, of which 36 examples were built. With its Scaglietti bodywork, 0714 is truly stunning – like a great sculpture it begs to be touched. Its incredible racing history puts the car far beyond most other 250 Testarossas, if such a thing can be said. This car would be welcomed with open arms to all the great historic race meetings and events around the globe. As these cars rarely come to market, the Testarossa is one of the most coveted in the marque's history. With breathtaking looks, fantastic performance and handling, this is a true connoisseur's Ferrari.

Priced at £1 million, the One-77 cost $2.4 million in US currency when it was announced last August. Now, that value has fallen to just $1.415 million. At €1.55 million, the Bugatti Veyron Fbg par Hermes now costs $1.956 million.

Now, while we're assuming such trivial matters as slight variations in price due to currency fluctuations makes very little difference to a mega rich customer's wallet, this does significantly alter the bragging rights attached to these cars. Let's face it, these customers aren't buying cars like this to drive (if they were every tycoon in the world would own a Caterham 7) they're buying them to get into a pissing contest with their fellow robber barons. Buying a One-77 now means not having the most expensive car at the international arms/yacht fair, something that likely means a lot to its potential customers. And you just know that big bully the Sultan of Brunei is going to say something smart.

The press release follows:

Aston Martin Reveals Spectacular One-77 Technical Showcase

Gaydon, Warwickshire – Tuesday 3 March - Aston Martin will present a One-77 technical showcase at the Geneva Auto Salon on 3 March 2009. Chassis no.1 will be on display as an exposé throughout the show detailing the quintessence of Aston Martin engineering and design expertise.

The One-77 is Aston Martin's definitive sports car, one that epitomises everything Aston Martin from technology, the hand-craftsmanship of the hand rolled aluminium panels to the attention to detail. A culmination of all the marque's know-how, the One-77 delivers effortless beauty guaranteed to stir the senses with performance potential eclipsing any previous Aston Martin.

With the performance and durability phase of the One-77's intensive development programme soon to commence, the 79th Geneva Auto Salon provides the perfect stage on which to reveal the remarkable engineering, advanced technology and exotic materials that lie beneath the One-77's extraordinary exterior.

For Aston Martin's Chief Executive, Dr Ulrich Bez, revealing the One-77's secrets is a proud moment: "Right from the very beginning of the project the vision for One-77 was very simple: It had to combine high-technology with hand-built craftsmanship, and demonstrate the unique capabilities and passion of our designers, engineers and
technical partners.

"Quite simply it had to be the ultimate expression of Aston Martin. As you can now see, we have achieved that goal in magnificent style."

Chris Porritt, One-77 Programme Manager continued: "We wanted to create something that wows you as much when you see what's under the skin as the exterior styling itself. We started by identifying the most technologically exciting front-engined, rear-wheel drive cars in the world: those from the DTM race series. We then applied the principles and technology that feature heavily in their design and translated it to a road car application."

Consequently the One-77's structural core is a lightweight and immensely rigid carbon fibre monocoque. Conceived and designed at Aston Martin's Gaydon HQ, the monocoque, or 'tub', has been built in partnership with Multimatic (MTC). As world leaders in carbon composite technology, advanced vehicle analysis and dynamic
simulation, MTC brings unrivalled specialist capabilities to the exacting challenge of the One-77 programme.

Employing the classic formula of double wishbones at each corner, the One-77 features inboard suspension front and rear, with pushrods employed to transfer vertical suspension movements to the horizontally mounted spring/damper units. A practice taken directly from racing car design, the main advantages of inboard suspension are a reduction in unsprung weight and the ability to package the suspension components more effectively.

The dampers are fully adjustable and feature advanced Dynamic Suspension Spool Valve (DSSV) technology; a world-first for a road car application. These special valves are state-of-the-art even at the highest levels of motorsport, and use high-precision machined components to enable the shock-absorbing characteristics of the damper to be changed without having to remove them from the car, as is the norm.

Underlining the truly bespoke nature of the One-77, once delivered to its owner, the car's suspension characteristics will be precisely set-up by Aston Martin engineers to suit their exact requirements, from settings suitable for the ultimate long-distance GT, to a machine capable of conquering the Nürburgring Nordschleife.

While functionality and efficiency are paramount in the design and construction of the One-77', so too is aesthetic beauty. To this end every single component has been crafted from the finest materials with absolute attention to detail. From the mesmerising weave of the glossy carbon fibre tub and the abstract, sculptural beauty of the dry
sump's oil reservoir, to the unerring precision of the billet machined aluminium suspension mounts, the One-77's rolling chassis is an automotive masterpiece.

Of course the irony is that the vast majority of these exquisite components will be hidden from view in the finished car, yet each and every piece is a work of art in its own right. It's this extraordinary workmanship and money-no-object commitment to quality that makes the One-77 unique.

Naturally, such a spectacular chassis demands – and gets - an equally exceptional drivetrain. It comes in the form of an immensely potent 7.3-litre, naturally aspirated V12 engine. Thanks to the adoption of a dry-sump oil system the engine is mounted 100mm lower than in any previous V12-engined Aston Martin road car, which helps keep the One-77's centre-of-gravity as low as possible. To further aid agility and endow the One-77 with progressive handling and stable, predictable on-limit behaviour, the engine is also mounted 257mm aft relative to the front wheel centreline. In so doing the front-midengined layout shared by all of Aston Martin's current road car range has been taken to a new level.

The One-77's magnificent power unit is an extreme evolution of the 6.0-litre V12 engines fitted to the DBS, DB9 and new V12 Vantage models. Like the collaboration with MTC for the build of the chassis, Aston Martin has chosen a world-leading partner with which to develop the motor: legendary engine builders, Cosworth. It has proved to be the perfect collaboration, as Chris Porritt explains.

"Our brief to the engine team was for them to take the 6.0-litre V12 as far as it could go,both in terms of output and weight reduction. The targets were a power output of no less than 700bhp with a 10 per cent reduction in engine mass. Incredibly, the Aston Martin and Cosworth engineers achieved a mass reduction of some 25 per cent, and although we've yet to complete the final engine calibration work, I'm confident we'll see in excess of 700bhp. It's an awesome accomplishment, but one that's typical of the One-77 project, for it has consistently brought out the very best in everyone involved."

Wearing Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyres (255/35 ZR20 front, 335/30 ZR20 rear) developed specifically for the One-77, all 700+bhp is transmitted to the road through the rear wheels via a new six-speed gearbox. Controlled via column-mounted paddles behind the steering wheel, this robotised sequential manual is a new generation of Aston Martin's familiar transmission. Though it is made specifically for the One-77 and features specially strengthened internals to cope with the tremendous power and torque, the lessons learned in its development will ultimately find their way into the company's series production models.

It's a mark of the inherent capabilities of Aston Martin's acclaimed lightweight Carbon Ceramic Matrix brake technology that it has been used as the basis for the One-77's braking system. The internals of the calipers have been re-engineered to transmit less heat from the brake pads into the brake fluid, while the discs themselves have been developed to ensure the maximum possible contact area between the face of the disc and the brake pads for improved stopping power. Due to the One-77's increased performance, special attention has also been paid to brake cooling, as the brakes have less time to cool between bursts of acceleration.

With a projected weight of 1,500kg the One-77 will occupy the very highest echelons of road car performance. Top speed is confidently predicted to be in excess of 200mph, with a 0-60mph time in approximately 3.5sec. Perhaps more importantly, thanks to the purity of a front-engined, rear-drive layout, the responsiveness and immense tractability of a naturally aspirated V12 and the low mass, high-rigidity properties of a carbon fibre chassis, the One-77 promises a driving experience of unrivalled intensity and excitement while representing the world's most desirable automotive art form.