Ferrari loses Testarossa name

Some of the most expensive cars ever sold at auction carry the Testarossa name, but Ferrari will never use it again because it can’t.

A court in Germany has ruled that Ferrari doesn’t own the badge anymore, and that a German toy-maker does.

The court’s decision insists that Ferrari’s 20 years without a Testarossa model means it has abandoned the name. It instead awarded the rights to the name to toy company Autec AG.

Ferrari had claimed ownership of both the ‘Testa Rossa’ and ‘Testarossa’ names.

While the highest price fetched by any car at auction is for a 1962 250 GTO ($US38.1 million), a 250 Testa Rossa prototype sold for $US16.4 million in 2011 for a then world record.

A pure racing car, the 250 Testa Rossa began its production run in 1957, then used its V12 power to win the Le Mans 24 Hour race in 1958, 1960 and 1961.

Few Testarossas are sold at auction today, with many of them changing hands privately.

The name ‘Testa Rossa’ related to its crackle-red camshaft covers and literally translates from Italian into ‘red head’.

It was next used on a Ferrari in a production car, the 512 Testarossa flat-12 coupe, which found about 10,000 buyers between 1984 and 2006, making it one of Ferrari’s highest-volume models.

The road-going car and its famous side strakes found even wider fame in the third season of the Miami Vice television show after Ferrari threatened the show with a lawsuit if it continued to use replica Daytona Spyders.

There are implications for Ferrari beyond Germany, especially if the EU allows the decision to stand throughout Europe.

Ferrari is, obviously, expected to appeal the decision.