The Ferrari 849 Testarossa is the story of a couple of classics, reimagined

Ferrari isn’t a car maker, it’s in showbusiness. Discuss. Like Lamborghini and Pagani, nobody really needs what it does, yet lots of the world’s most influential people continue to lose their minds over anything that bears that handsome equine logo. That extends to Ferrari's haute couture fashion that’s really found its groove under the creative direction of former Armani designer, Rocco Iannone. We’d challenge you to name another brand of this magnitude that’s managed to pivot quite so authentically.

But for all the forays into lucrative parallel worlds, it’s the cars that still melt the internet and these are certainly busy times for the Italian giant. Entry into the Ferrari universe is now done via the Amalfi, a heavily reworked version of the out-going Roma coupe, with clever chassis, steering and interior upgrades. It’s also received a design glow-up that brings it into line with the modernist manifesto in play at the company’s dedicated Centro Stile. This is a project overseen by Chief Design Officer Flavio Manzoni, a suave Sardinian with a sure grasp of the luxury milieu but also a committed modernist. Although he acknowledges Ferrari’s glittering back catalogue – how could you not? – he refuses to be over-awed by it, or to play it safe. When your employer has 32 million followers on Instagram, none of them shy when it comes to sharing an opinion, this is a potentially risky strategy.

But also the correct one. The 849 Testarossa is proof of that. In the flesh it’s a riot of curves, complex aerodynamic forms, and sheer, unadulterated drama. Plenty of people crave something simpler, more in keeping with Ferrari’s glorious past, when its design was in the hands of the famous Italian coachbuilder, Pininfarina. But when you’re asking the body of a car to do so much cooling and aero work, it’s likely to end up looking chiselled and challenging. Downforce wasn’t a thing in the '50s, after all.

The 849 Testa Rossa also asks for trouble by invoking the memory of not one but two classic Ferraris. The original 250 Testa Rossa won the Le Mans 24 hours in 1958, and remains a car of incalculable grace and beauty. The name was revived (and contracted) in 1984, and that version pulses with pop cultural kudos thanks to its starring role in the television series Miami Vice (and Dr Dre’s infamous LA chase in 1994). Truth is, it wasn’t universally loved at the time, deemed symptomatic of the '80s ‘greed is good’ ethos, and endured a long spell in the wilderness. Now everyone wants one.

The new car’s slender headlights approximate the Testarossa’s much-missed pop-up ones, while the double flicks at the rear actually reference another historic competition classic, the early '70s 512 S. As with all new Ferraris, the scope for personalisation is endless, and if you really flex the spec the 849 Testarossa is knocking on the door of masterpiece. Trust us on this.

It also aims to improve in other areas that has purists grumbling. As the replacement for the clever but overly digital SF90, the 849 TR continues and evolves Ferrari’s hybrid tech. The heart of it is a 4.0-litre V8, which sits low in the middle of the car’s aluminium chassis. Its power output is now 819bhp, an increase of 50 compared to the previous car that’s largely achieved by the fitment of new turbochargers. The biggest ever used by a road-going Ferrari, in fact. There’s also a redesigned exhaust, made of Inconel (expensive, durable and light), and bigger intercoolers.

But then we come to the plug-in hybrid element, which brings with it two electric motors on the front axle and one at the rear that sits between the engine and the eight-speed gearbox. It sure is busy back there. Fed by a 7.45 kWh battery, it takes the total power output to a resounding 1,036bhp, but also enables the 849 TR to do 16 miles in pure electric mode, as well as smoothing out turbo lag and helping the engine to rev-match during downshifts. There’s also new software to ensure that all these components communicate with each other properly, but which also governs an ingenious traction control and braking system. Showbiz and entertainment are high in the mix, but so too is engineering and tech innovation.

It’s an astonishing car to drive. “I like to emphasise the difference between complexity and complication. Technically the 849 is very complex, but it isn’t complicated to drive,” Ferrari’s test driving supremo Raffaele de Simone explains. He’s right, in the sense that pretty much anyone could get into this car and operate it without embarrassment. The 849 even sees the return of a proper engine start/stop button; having lately abandoned physical switchgear, Ferrari has seen sense and ditched the synthetic-feeling haptics. The gear selector mimics the old ‘open gate’ of a classic Ferrari manual ’box, and sits within a dramatic swept centre console and generally future-facing interior. The seats are fantastic, the view out and behind fine for a mid-engined machine like this.

But it gets more challenging after that. Almost all modern hypercars are a blizzard of chassis and powertrain possibilities, and the Ferrari doubles down on that by offering various tyre and suspension options. On the track, we’re in an 849 fitted with the Assetto Fiorano pack, which reduces the overall weight by 30kg, increases the amount of downforce (to 415kg at 155mph), and runs on fixed rate, motorsport-grade dampers. As ever on a Ferrari, you can cycle through various drive modes using the steering wheel-mounted (I)manettino(I), each perfectly calibrated so that even a novice can safely get a feel for 1,000-plus bhp. The combustion engine is characterful without being totally in your face all the time, the eight-speed gearbox quite simply the best in the world.

Go from ‘Race’ to ‘CT off’ and the 849 reveals how deeply engineered it really is, combining warp factor seven performance with amazing steering and brake feel, and a willingness to rotate at whatever angle you’re comfortable with. Basic physics suggests that mid-engined cars are trickier to slide – ‘polar moment’, it’s called – but the 849 TR floods your senses with information and moves with clarity and athleticism. It makes the driver feel like a hero, basically. Useful in a car that costs £407,617.

Ferrari celebrates its 80^th anniversary next year, and heads towards that milestone facing the same geo-political headwinds as everyone else. Nothing in the car world is sacrosanct, and the imminent arrival of the electric Luce is proof that Ferrari is up for a challenge. Not everyone is on-board with that idea. But the 849 Testarossa confirms that its core business has never been in better shape.