Arguably Ferrari’s hit car of the 1980s, the Testarossa was approaching its sixth year of production in 1990 and Maranello’s design team sought to update the iconic model for the coming decade.

Returning to numeric nomenclature, its successor was dubbed the “Ferrari 512 TR”, with “5” representing the (rounded up) cubic capacity of the engine in litres, “12” the number of cylinders, and “TR” standing for Testarossa.

The 512 TR shared many similarities with its predecessor, but was expertly tweaked by Ferrari both in terms of styling and engineering.

The nose and tail of the car were brought closer to the ground, with sail panel buttresses now plain and flowing directly to the roof.

The nose bore a resemblance to the 348 that had been introduced in 1989, and the grille had a Cavallino Rampante affixed to its centre.

At the rear, the engine lid featured a new louvred design, while the newly designed 18-inch alloy wheels were a modern take on the Ferrari five-spoke pattern.

Staggered...