Ferrari has released a very limited edition ride-on for kids based on the Testa Rossa J, but it’s not your typical toy car.
Ferrari’s three-quarter scale 250 Testa Rossa racer is made for kids but costs as much as a second hand prancing horse.
The Italian maker partnered with The Little Car Company, which has previously made a $50k Bugatti ride-on, to produce the unique vehicle. It’s based on the 1957 car and includes era-spec parts from the likes of Brembo, PIrelli and Bilstein, and has even been test rdiven and tuned by Ferrari test drivers.
The cost for an extensive toy car that can hit a top speed of 60km/h is a whopping $150,000. And with a 90-kay driving range form the electric battery you’d want a decent estate to drive it around.
The Ferrari replica was built starting with digital replications of the car’s original drawings and with a template to work towards, The Little Car Company then set its team of panel-beaters to hammer the car’s bodywork out of aluminium.
Ferrari says the Testa Rossa J retains the same steering and suspension geometry as the original 250, which it claims offers “authentic handling.”
The interior was pieced together with the same level of details, specific to the era in many ways. The single bench seat (which can accomodate an adult and a teenager) features the same piping as the original Testa Rossa, and is trimmed using the same leather found in Ferrari’s current cars. The toy’s pedal box was lifted from the F8 Tributo supercar, while the wooden steering wheel was sourced from Nardi, which is the same company that Ferrari used back in 1957 when sourcing a wheel for the original 250 Testa Rossa.
Ferrari and The Little Car Company even reproduced the classic car’s gauges, although they’ve been repurposed for use in an electric car. The original oil and water gauges now display the battery and motor temperatures, while the fuel gauge is the battery charge-level indicator.
The tachometer has become a speedometer, and there’s even a new power gauge which displays the level of regenerative braking.
Ferrari and The Little Car Company are inviting buyers to customise the Testa Rossa J to their taste, offering a choice of 14 historical racing liveries, 53 paint finishes and 15 upholstery colours.
The Testa Rossa J is powered by a trio of batteries and an electric motor, all of which are mounted under the bonnet. The motor has a maximum output of 4kW, while the batteries give a range of up to 90km.
The toy also has three driving modes, which incrementally increase its top speed. Novice mode limits the motor’s output to just 1kW and caps the top speed at 20kph. Comfort unleashes all 4kW and raises the limiter to 45kph. However, there’s also Sport and Race mode, both of which have sharper throttle maps and increase the toy’s maximum speed to more than 60kph.
