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Ferrari relaunches the Testa Rossa as an electric scale replica

Buying a Ferrari for your child has never been easier

Ferrari Testa Rossa
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Ask any child what they think the most special car brand is and most will provide the same answer – Ferrari.

The Prancing Horse has long evoked passion in car lovers young and old, through the success of its past road cars such as the F40, to racers like the 250 GTO.

Although its cars traditionally aren't designed for young members of the Tifosi, Ferrari has rectified this by creating a 75 per cent scale replica of its 1957 250 Testa Rossa, dubbed the Testa Rossa J – for Junior, of course.

Ferrari Testa Rossa Junior 4
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Gone from under the bonnet is the 3.0-litre, 60-degree Tipo 128 V12, instead this recreation is powered by an electric motor with three batteries providing up to 90km of driving range combined.

As with Ferrari's current range, the driver can choose from four different driving modes which deliver varying levels of power. Novice is capped at 1kW with a top speed of 45km/h and Comfort bumps output up to 4kW with an increase to 45km/h, while both Sport and Race let the Testa Rossa J achieve speeds of over 60km/h – although power figures aren't provided.

Ferrari Testa Rossa Junior 6
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The exterior has been styled around the original 250 TR, designed by Scaglietti as a 'barchetta', which translates to little boat – earning the 'pontoon fender' nickname due to its distinct front quarter panels.

A true three-quarter scale replica, the exact exterior portions have been meticulously crafted from hand-beaten aluminium, allowing the suspension geometry to remain identical to the original car.

Inside the cockpit it's a throwback to 1957 with Nardi again providing the car's steering wheel, matching up to the repurposed dials which now include temperature gauges for the electric motor and batteries in place of the original's water and oil temps. Meanwhile, the fuel gauge now shows the battery's charge levels as the old tachometer has been repurposed as a speedometer.

Ferrari Testa Rossa Junior 1
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Ferrari's current operations influenced the TRJ's creation too, with the pedals sourced from the F8 Tributo, while tyres come from technical partner Pirelli, wrapping the handmade 12-inch wire wheels.

If you think this was all just slapped together and has no Ferrari pedigree, you'd be wrong – it also under went testing at the Prancing Horse's Fiorano test track, its Bilstein coilover suspension receiving the tick of approval from Maranello's test drivers.

Ferrari Testa Rossa Junior 3
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With just 299 Testa Rossa Juniors set to be produced, prices start at €93,000 (AU$175,000) which excludes taxes, shipping and optional features excluded. Ferrari offers it in a range of 14 historical liveries and 53 bodywork colours, as well as providing the option to special order personalised racing decals.

Designed for an extremely niche market of drivers over 14 years old but not yet old enough to obtain a driver's licence, the Testa Rossa Junior is not homologated for road use. However, if you've got a 75 per cent scale Le Mans circuit at home and want your child to replicate Ferrari's four wins in the 24 Hour race, this is the product you've been looking for.

Jordan Mulach
Contributor

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