The Ferrari Testarossa was one of my dream cars as a kid. It was the first Prancing Horse I’d ever seen in person and there was a poster of one on my wall. So, if I had about a couple hundred thousand to burn, this is the project I’d pick up! The seller is asking $155,000 here on eBay for this trio and with the way Ferrari prices have been going lately, that might actually be a good deal. All three have needs, but the black one could probably become a driver without too much effort. Then you could either restore or sell the other two.
The first of the group may look more like a patchwork quilt than an exotic car, but that’s just because the previous owner was prepping it for paint. That still needs completed and there are a few parts missing. The engine is mostly there, but as the seller mentions, you will want to go through everything before attempting a start. These cars have been parked for many years in a warehouse so they are going to need a lot of work before doing any high speed maneuvers. Oh, and this one has a salvage title.
This one does have a title, but it suffered some fire damage. The seller has taken the time to find a replacement rear deck lid. That may help with the exterior part of the restoration, but depending on how bad the fire was, this could be a big project. Then again, it could have been mostly smoke. You will want to inspect this in person before committing and it might be a good idea to take a Ferrari expert along if you aren’t one yourself.
Finally, we have the car with the most promise. It has some cosmetic needs inside and out, but has a clear title and is mostly complete. There are few items missing on the front of the engine, but you’d probably want to replace some of those bits anyway. So, there you have it. Three Testarossas. One price. This could be a good buy for someone with the skills and resources to restore these or you could even just keep one and sell the other two off. What do you think would be best plan of attack here?
Can I make the first “Miami Vice” or drugs joke? Nah, too easy.
THOSE WERE corvettes with kit bodys, and cost more to build then the real thing, lol
Maybe Fiero or Camaro based kits…
And they ran. No fires.
Well, the black Daytona used in the show was a kit on a ‘vette chassis… but the white Testarossa was a real Ferrari. I seem to recall that Ferrari didn’t like that they were using a fake Daytona, and that was part of the reason why they switched to a new, real Ferrari in the show.
When Mr. Ferrari found out the Mann used a Corvette made up to look like the Daytona,he didn’t like it at. So he contacted the producers and offered, free of charge, a REAL Ferrari (In the industry, it’s known as “Product Placement”)! Ferrari sales practically skyrocketed as a result of this savvy move.
Ferrari loaned them a Testarossa to replace the fake Daytonas, but for stunt driving, the show’s producers had a fake Testarossa ‘body double’ based on a Pantera. It had a mention in ‘Popular Mechanics’
http://pop.h-cdn.co/assets/15/28/768×484/gallery-1436387944-vice-cutaway.jpg
That was the Daytona in the 1st seasons. The TestaRossa was real…
The joke only works if you can bring Tubbs in on it, that was a fun day!
Being in Texas, I am surprised the Gas Monkeys haven’t been alerted of these yet.
I think even those asshats know this is far above their pay grade considering how badly they were burnt on that F40.
Thumbs up JC
The (G)as(s) Monkey boys were out hustled by the Hoosier Kruse boys on that F40 deal….no problem here…just switch VIN’$ between the salvage and burn….oh I forgot…it’s illegal. Maybe expo ft them to Dubai for a demolition derby.
OMG. Three times the pain.
The most expensive Ferrari is a low priced Ferrari.
Don’t be fooled. I’ve owned 3 Ferrari’s over the years, that last one being a ’90 TR with 3k miles. Fun car but not easy to work on and the parts for these cars are extremely expensive. Even when they’ve been well taken care of, they can be temperamental and will break down occasionally. Additionally, something to think about is that you don’t drive a “beater” Ferrari like a classic survivor. F cars need to look pristine or they just look like neglected junk and the driver ends up looking like he’s trying to look cool in something he can’t afford. If you’re going to buy an F car, buy one with a clean history and save yourself plenty of money and frustration. And this comes from a guy that never buys cars that are finished or pristine. Anyone know what “testarossa” means (and don’t cheat by googling it).
Red Head? My Grandfather used to tell me that the two meanest things in this world were a red nosed dog and a red headed woman. No TR’s for me!
Bingo !! Have any idea why Enzo gave it that name ??
It’s not something you see every day?
Sends me back to 1998 …. someone I knew in the car trade bought a Testarossa with 1300 miles on it. It had sat in a garage unused since 1989. When it came back from recommissioning he said I could have a drive but sadly the battery was dead. Gutted!
Single mirror versions are more sought after aren’t they?
Red head describing red valve covers??
In part yes, but it was a homage to the ’57 Testa Rossa that was a stellar race winner which had the valve covers painted red as well.
Gas Monkey knows all about these cars. These cars are owned and are being sold by by Dennis Collins.
You know they’re bad news when guys like Rawlings and Collins, who are both accustomed to losing money on cars, bars and anything else they touch, are offing them as a group. If you could buy all 3 for about half the asking price, you’d be safe, anything more and you’ll need a reality car show with a bunch of monkeys (literally) running around without a clue, to foot the bill for your loss.
This is what the gas gauge looks like.
http://s3cf.recapguide.com/img/tv/117/12×18/The-Simpsons-Season-12-Episode-18-34-ad8f.jpg
If you want to see something amusing, look on motor1.com at the videos of all the supercar driving experiences gone bad. Many people who have the dollars to buy them don’t have the sense to drive them.
These are for sale by Dennis Collins. That guy can end up with some amazing cars. His Mustang collection he just sold was very cool.
Looking at the pricing on the other cars listed in your classified ads located in Wylie Texas makes me think there may be a severe shortage of oxygen there. I am surprised the “Azz monkey” people don’t want to do one of their amazing 7 day restorations on them! Should tell you something………..
I worked at the local Ferrari dealer in the Mid 80’s when these were new as a mechanic. I didn’t work on them a lot as most of my work was on older cars and Alfa’s and Maser’s but I thought they were cool at the time. Fast forward 20 years later and having become an engineer and avoiding the financial meltdown, I went looking for a Testarossa in 2008. I found a really nice one, black with a tan interior with low miles. It was priced right and I was ready to pull the trigger, but then I actually drove it and hated it. It was to wide and to heavy and I really did not find it enjoyable at all to drive. I drove a couple of others just to make sure my assessment was not correct and still hated them. I have owned a couple of 308’s and even driven an original 250 testarossa as well as a 500TRC all were great fun, but this generation is just a fat pig.
If you thought the TR handled poorly, drive an early 930 sometime (do yourself a favor and never lift during a high speed sweep). Many of the low mile TR’s during that time frame and even still, have the original Goodyears on them and those shoes do not keep well. I had the same experience with test drives until I drove the one I finally purchased that had the old rubber replaced. My 328 couldn’t hold a candle to the TR, both in power, handling and braking. I felt the only thing lacking was more power which was fixed with the 512. I never owned one but my buddy bought a new 512M and that thing was fast. Wanna set your hair on fire, take an F40 for a spin (make sure you warm up the tires first though, I found that out the hard way and almost drained my pocket book).
I concur with Klharper, I was so excited when I was finally able to afford a poster car from my teenage age, but after driving one, was really let down as to how awkward it was to drive in anything but a highway environment. They are iconic and important in Ferrari’s history thus will always be collectible, but as someone who only collects cars that are usable, I had to pass. I bought a ’85 308 and a ’94 NSX for the same amount of money and have never regretted it.
I have always thought the 348 has better proportions. Still an iconic car though.
How about buying a P4 from RCR and using one of these as a donner.
Reasonable idea but the P4 used a 60degree Colombo v12 and this is a flat 12. Better to use an engine our of a 400I.
On further notes of poor design, and I do actually like Ferrari’s but the setup with the flat 12 on top of the transmission is stupid. It raises the CG and does nothing good for handling. The original reason for flat 12’s were that they got the mass down as low as possible, see the 1974 312T F1 cars. And this worked.
Why they thought it was a good idea to mount it in top of the transmission with the 365 bb and subsequent iterations I don’t know.
Oh flat engines left F1 because of aerodynamics, as you needed that area for diffuser and air management more than for a low CG.
I couldn’t afford the poster back then. We have a TR in the neighborhood. That has to be the widest rear end on the planet (I’d put a Big circle H on the hood if I had one). I’m holding out for a 360 Modena or a 458. Who knows, maybe someday (better hurry, I’m old).
I actually had posters of half naked women hanging on my wall. You guys scare me. Lol. But seriously, I’m a little worried
I seem to remember this deal from about a year ago for the same price. Even with the black one being in the best shape this is still overpriced for parts cars.
They were indeed for sale in 2015, however at that time there were four of them and they were offered for $145k OBO. So the new owners took out one black one (probably the best of the lot?), added an engine deck lid to a red one, slapped on a steering column surround and steering wheel in the black one and then called it a day. If this sells for anywhere near ask the only one getting a good deal out of it is the owner. :-)
To me it’s about the drive. 99% of you won’t agree but I would pull the engines and drop SBCs in them and sell the engines. Cheaper to work on and who would ever know if you didn’t pop the top. Drive for 10 years and do a barn find listing with them. lol What are the engines worth………?
Of course, each to his own but Ferrari’s have a distinct exhaust tone which is far different than an sbc. I don’t traffic in Ferrari parts or engines but I’d guess that there aren’t too many TR’s missing engines so these engines don’t have enough value to offset the sbc swap (which would be a monumental task on it’s own) and future value of the car would be destroyed. If porsche 911’s can crest 6 figures easily and it has all the design style of an upside down bathtub, imagine what TR’s could bring in the years to come given their production numbers next to the 911’s. When you say “Ferrari”, it’s a word far above the food chain than “Porsche” or “Porscha” or whatever.
I’ve seen prices on Ferrari engines and they do clap one out now and then. I do know a tune-up on one runs up around 10k. I’d rather tune the sbc and enjoy the body style. Ever notice on sales where they’re almost all low miles………wonder why? In today’s gear heads out there I guarantee there’s someone that can make a TRs sound like the original. lol
Out of curiosity, looked up used engines for these. Would you believe they start at around 30k………….Think I would throw in a SBC.
They can ask $30k, but doubt they sell them very often. More likely that they part them out. Not much of a market for them considering how temperamental they are.
I’ve owned several and a tune up does not cost $10k. That would be a major service and it’s closer to $6k and includes timing belts, clutch, etc. They drop the entire rear sub frame to do it. They’re almost all low miles because they are a hand made exotic and not a comfortable daily driver. People also understand that they devalue these type cars when they rack up big miles on them. Lot’s of factors. I’ve been a gear head for 35 years and know of no way possible to make a sbc sound like a boxer 12.
I would salvage what I could off the two red ones to use on the black one. Might keep the best hood, front cover and fenders off the two red ones to keep, “just in case”
Sell what’s left.