Kit Car Exotica: 1957 Ferrari 250 Testarossa

To sell a kit car that is in somewhat half-finished state is likely a difficult moment for the seller. You’re over some key hurdles to completion; there’s a proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. But you’re still not quite near enough to the finish line to justify completion if your heart is no longer in it, or if the money train has stopped coming through the station. The Ferrari kit car shown here is a replica of the “pontoon-fendered” 250 Testarossa, one of the most symbolic Ferraris of all time. The seller has posted it for sale here on eBay with an opening bid of $42,000 and no reserve.

The pontoon-fendered Ferrari 250 Testarossa is the stuff of the billionaire class, or millionaires who are just about to achieve that threshold of wealth. It’s a limited audience, for sure, and like all limited-production Ferrari competition vehicles, those that survive see incredibly limited use, effectively just brought out for parade laps. The model has legitimate claims to competition pedigree, helping Ferrari win multiple world championships along with along with numerous victories at the 24 Hours of LeMans. A total of 33 cars were built, which gives you a sense as to why surviving examples sell for the prices that they do.

The seller’s build is an intriguing one, with some heavy lifting already done. As he points out, the body has been married to the chassis, which requires some significant labor to complete. The engine is a Cadillac Northstar V8, which offers powerful, DOHC dynamics and easy parts-sourcing for repairs and upgrades. The seller is proud of how it fits in the engine bay, and it does look quite tidy. The chassis that the body rides atop is described as a “custom” job that was modified for the body, but the listing doesn’t confirm if it’s a true one-off or a modified production chassis. Regardless, the next owner will still need to build a wiring harness, install various plumbing, concoct a fuel system, assemble the interior, and more.

The seller sounds somewhat defensive about how the car has been stored, and I can understand why he may be taking some flack for the conditions the Testarossa replica is shown in. While dust is the least of your upcoming challenges, it does suggest someone has effectively abandoned the project if they can’t move it to a location where it would be protected from the weather. That being said, moving a non-running vehicle with the weight of an engine installed can’t be a pleasant task, so I suspect this is more of a logistical challenge than outright neglect. Do you think this is an exceptional opportunity to build a replica of a legendary race car most of us will never afford?