I haven’t been in too many accidents in my life, despite driving 40,000+ miles a year. I’ve been lucky, there is no question about it. I can’t imagine the feeling to have been in an accident with a car like this 1987 Ferrari Testarossa. This wrecked redhead (Testorossa = “redhead” in Italian) is part of a Copart auction and you can find more info about it here. It’s in the Boston, Massachusetts area. Thanks to Desmond G. for sending in this tip!
I have at least one car that I rarely drive because I’m afraid to have it anywhere near “those people”. You know the ones I mean, the uncaring car-is-an-appliance type of people who wouldn’t think twice about swinging their door into your door in a parking lot, because, you know, a car is just a way to bring you to the store and back home again. Who cares, you can just get another one. Those people. They’re out there, so beware. We don’t know the story on what happened with this Testarossa but whatever it was, I get the chills just looking at these photos.
Ok, that’s more like it. Those famous strakes running down the side pretty much define the 1980s to me. Who among the young, acid-wash jeans crowd didn’t dream about having a Testarossa? Ferrari Testarossa posters on their bedroom walls next to those of Cheryl Ladd and Farrah Fawcett, what an era. The Testarossa was a replacement for what is a hot car today, the BB, or Berlinetta Boxer, a mid-engine car that replaced an even hotter car: the front-engine Daytona. I guess all Ferraris are hot today, even the formerly almost-unwanted 400i with an automatic transmission. The Testarossa flew in an entirely different league than most exotic cars of the era and it still stands out today.
The interior looks almost perfect which is a good sign for the former owner. Again, we don’t know anything about the accident or the former owner, but I’m just assuming that they survived whatever it was that pulverized the front end of this Ferrari. The gated 5-speed manual transmission was the only one available and this car has a mere 13,067 miles on it. For us car guys and gals, that’s a pretty tragic ending. I’m guessing that this car will be repaired as there are other Ferraris listed on the Copart site and some of them have bids of over $100,000.
The famous redhead is seen in the photo above, the painted red cam covers of the 4.9L Ferrari flat-12 which had about 390 hp. Vehicles sure have come a long way, speed-wise, as my Cayenne Turbo is quicker from 0-60 than this Testarossa is, or was. But, there is no question which one I’d rather have. At least if this wasn’t a project car. The seller lists an estimated retail value of $172,700 and they didn’t get that number from Hagerty which lists a #1 concours car as being worth $105,000. I would tend to be somewhere between those two numbers, $105,000 doesn’t get much these days for legendary exotics. Have any of you owned a Ferrari?
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