Test Drive: Ferrari screenshots show a slew of vintage horses

Since its surprise announcement in November, details have been rather scarce on  Test Drive: Ferrari. We know it’s a Test Drive game and we know there’s a chance it will feature a fair few Ferraris, but we had little else to go on.

Despite the fact it’s been tipped for a March release, Slightly Mad have been strangely quiet about this project, which was previously put on hold in favour of developing Need for Speed: Shift at the time due to legal troubles with the Ferrari license. Fortunately, a slew of new screenshots and a newly discovered trailer are starting to paint a very pretty picture indeed.

Graphically, it has all the hallmarks of what we’ve come to expect from a Test Drive game, with accurately rendered interiors and superb sunsets to show off the lighting and reflection effects. But since this is a game centred on Italy’s most iconic brand of supercars, we’re much more interested in the car line-up.

It’s been reported that Test Drive: Ferrari will include 52 cars from Ferrari’s illustrious 65 year history, but what makes it particularly special is the inclusion of various vintage Ferrari’s previously unseen in driving games. Even Forza Motorsport 4, which has seemingly every car known to man, will be envious of some of these rarities.

Chief among which is the 1951 Ferrari 212 Export shown in the screenshot below. Its classic design screams ‘1950’s sports car,” as do its laughable luxuries – it may have leather upholstery, but fitting windscreen wipers and door handles was clearly asking too much.

Still, there’s a very good reason why it belongs in Test Drive: Ferrari, and one that makes us surprised that this marks its first appearance in a driving game: it won the first historic Tour de France Automobile event back in 1951. Just don’t drive it in the rain, if Test Drive: Ferrari even has weather effects.

Next up, the following screenshot depicts a host of Ferrari F1 race cars from the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, a period of motorsport where you felt fortunate if you made it across the finish line with your head still attached to your spine. According to the Internet Games Car Database, a 1950 Ferrari 275 can be seen in the background, along with a 1948 Ferrari 125, notable for being the first F1 car produced by Ferrari.

Here we have what many proclaim as Ferrari’s most beautiful F1 car of all time: the 1967 Ferrari 312. Its reputation was rather ugly however, as after just two weeks it claimed the life of driver Lorenzo Bandini in the 1967 Monaco Grand Prix. After careering into a barrier just past the old tunnel, the car burst into flames on impact. Tragic, but sadly not uncommon for F1 in those days. 

The 312 was upgraded throughout the 1970’s, but during this time it started to develop a few wrinkles. It’s quite a rarity for me to label a Ferrari ugly, but in contrast to the 1960’s model this vulgar 1974 Ferrari 312B3 looks like it’s already been in an accident with its horrific front end.

After a successful nose transplant, it was soon replaced by the Ferrari 312T from 1974. It underwent a total of 6 variations – this particular model represents the 1979 Ferrari 312T4.

Finishing the F1 line-up we have the more contemporary 2007 Ferrari F2007 – the very same F1 car you drove in Gran Turismo 5, in fact.

In case you couldn’t gather from the screenshots, Slightly Mad has driven the Test Drive series away from its street racing roots and put it in a pair of racing overalls, a strategy which isn’t too dissimilar from when they first introduced Shift as an entry for Need for Speed.

Indeed, licensed tracks appear to be in Test Drive: Ferrari – we spotted what we think are glimpses of Spa, Monaco, Silverstone and the Nurburgring. But we’re not just going by the screenshots, as a trailer showing early gameplay footage has since surfaced:

We’re not sure exactly which build of the game this video represents, but there is a chance it could be from Test Drive: Ferrari’s primal stage of development from the before Shift, meaning the gameplay footage could be at least 3 years old. With this in mind, we feel it would be unfair to make an informed judgement on the physics, but right now they look decidedly Shift-y.

For some this will come as bad news since Shift’s handling was a bit on the loose side at times, and the video seems to support this. Don’t be surprised, therefore, if Test Drive: Ferrari’s physics engine turns out to be an enhanced version of Shift 2: Unleashed’s handling model. Also notice that much of the trailer took place from the cockpit, but Shift 2’s revolutionary helmet cam didn’t appear to be in use – again, we strongly suspect this may make it into the final game too.

In terms of car content, Test Drive: Ferrari is so far living up to its title, and we’re confident it will offer a similar level of fan service as the classic Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed. Hopefully the final driving experience will deliver similar levels of satisfaction, but it doesn’t look like we’ll have too long to wait to find out when Test Drive: Ferrari roars out onto the track this March.

Until then, feast your eyes on this smattering of additional screenshots:

Words by Martin Bigg (Twitter: @drivinggamespro)

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