Ferrari F512 M 1997

We're looking at the F512M, which some argue is the swan song of Ferrari's legendary Testarossa lineage of sports cars. It's a love letter to days gone by, when cars were analog and driving was an art form more than a skill.

Draped in a shade of red so crimson that it makes the cardinals in the Vatican City envious, this example absolutely holds your eyes hostage from the moment you first see it. And it's impossible to look at the flanking air vents without comparing them to the gills of a predator, channelling air to cool the beating heart of this Italian stallion.

And speaking of hearts, nestled behind the driver thrums a 4.9-liter flat-12 engine that can only be described as a concerto producing, for the time, a mind-boggling 440 brake horsepower. Each of the 440 horses produced by those twelve cylinders pushes the F512 forward, galloping with the spirit of Enzo Ferrari himself. And the car, it moves with a graciousness that belies the on-paper numbers. How can a car move so fast and move so effortlessly? It blurs the line between velocity and emotion.  And, especially today, the manual transmission (gated, of course) is less "stick" and more "direct connection to the soul of the car". To pilot the F512 M is to commune with automotive royalty, to experience the pinnacle of an era when cars were built not just to impress, but to inspire.  

But a Ferrari is as much about the design as it is about performance. Those pop-up headlights? They're the F512 M's come-hither wink. Inside, the cockpit wraps around you like a tailored Italian suit, every control falling perfectly to hand. All of the design choices harken us back to the glory days, a playful reminder of an age when cars had personality, not just specs.

In a world of computerised perfection, the F512 M stands as a defiant rebel yell, a reminder that true greatness comes not from flawless execution. It instead, can be found from character, from soul, from the intangible magic that turns a collection of parts into an object of desire.