www.QV500.com - Ferrari F512 M Part 1: F512 M
 

Launched in October 1994 at the Paris Salon, the F512 M was the last incarnation of Ferrari's ageing Testarossa. Moreover, it was also the firms final Flat-12 engined supercar, an illustrious line that had begun back in 1973 with the awesome 365 GT4 BB. Lighter, more powerful and dynamically superior to the outgoing 512 TR, Ferrari's Modificato most obviously featured a host of distinctive visual changes that did very little for Pininfarina's original design. The 512 TR's familiar underpinnings were largely unchanged although a few aerodynamic tweaks were made underneath to improve fifth-face airflow.
   

Displacement once again went unchanged at 4943cc although output rose by 12 horses to 440bhp at 6750rpm. This was thanks largely to a higher compression ratio (10.4:1), forged pistons and revised combustion chambers. The same M2.7 Bosch Motronic engine management was used. Performance had improved to the point that this 1980’s leviathan could now crack sixty in just 4.7 seconds and top 195mph. The most noticeable changes were to the all-aluminium bodywork that Pininfarina had given another update. It must be said that this time though, they weren't nearly as successful as with the 512 TR. Incorporating an F355-style front bumper, the retractable headlights were ditched in favour of ellipsoidal fixed homofocal units under glass covers while the front lid now featured a pair of NACA ducts carved out from beneath the windscreen. Inevitably, the Testarossa's trademark engine-cooling strakes had to stay, the biggest side profile change having been Mythos-style split-rim wheels manufactured to a distinctive aerodynamically inspired five-star design. At the back, more wholesale changes were made with traditional circular light clusters being mounted either side of a matt black grille, this having been markedly smaller than the full-width item used on the Testarossa and 512 TR.
 
While some of the bodywork changes were just way too fussy, the F512 M's interior remained predominantly unaltered, a new steering wheel and adjustable driving pedals being the only noteworthy changes. Launched during October 1994 at the Paris Salon, this was the last mid-engined Flat-12 supercar Ferrari would produce before reverting back to a more traditional front-V12-engined layout for its series production two-seat flagship. By the time production was discontinued in the autumn of 1996, exactly 500 examples had been completed making this the most scarce Testarossa-variant of all.