The Ferrari Testarossa

An “exaggeration of flamboyance”. That’s how Pininfarina lauded the Ferrari Testarossa. The illustrious Italian design house had a point – few cars epitomise 1980s excess like the Testa. Everyone from overt covert police officers (read Sonny Crockett) and sockless yuppies to Wolves of Wall Street and teenage Sega fanboys championed the Ferrari. It captured the public imagination and turned its maker into a household name. And isn’t that what any great supercar should do?

In addressing the 512BB’s shortcomings, Ferrari had produced a ‘world’ car for the first time. As extravagant and unconventional as it appears from the outside, the Testarossa is actually more a civilised Grand Tourer than a cold-blooded supercar – though that’s not to say we’d take any foolish liberties with it. So while this flat-12 has the head-turning image to make you feel like a schoolchild again, it’s also the perfect partner to bond with on a cross-continental weekend away. Truly, the best of both worlds.

This Ferrari Testarossa

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the most desirable Ferrari Testarossas are those built earliest – cars which distinguish themselves with their single ‘flying mirrors’ (Monospecchio) and knock-off hubs (Monodado). The Testarossa we’re offering, chassis number 64051, is one of these cars.

Chassis 64051’s factory Certificate of Origin was issued on 22 May 1986, when the car was sold via the Milan-based Ferrari dealer Crepaldi Auto S.r.l. to one Arrigo Recordati. Monospecchio, Monodado, non-cat, Argento Metallizzato bodywork and a Blu leather interior – as Testarossa specifications go, this was a corker and very rare indeed.

A few months later, on 1 September 1986, Recordati registered the car under the name of Fimei, his company in Milan. Recordati was clearly very taken with the car, cherishing it for almost a decade – a maintenance invoice from Rossocorsa in Milan on 23 October 1995 notes the mileage as 9,806km.

Shortly afterward, chassis 64051 was exported the Netherlands, where it wound up in the possession of David Hart. Hart elected Bonhams to sell this Testarossa at its Exceptional Ferrari Motor Cars Auction in Gstaad on 19 December 2000. The winning bidder was an Englishman by the name of Jamie Maclean.

Having been imported to England, this Ferrari was issued with a dating letter by Maranello Concessionaires on 30 May 2002 and, a month later, assigned the UK registration ‘C767 OTW’. The car changed hands twice more, and has been used sparingly and maintained beautiful by its current owner ever since.

In April of this year, with the mileage noted as just 30,488km, chassis 64051 was delivered to The Light Car Company for a major engine-out service. The works included the replacement of the cambelts, coolant and fuel hoses, brake pads and fluid, battery and clutch fluid. While the motor was out of the car, we also took the opportunity to have the engine bay steam cleaned.

A low-mileage, matching-numbers early-specification Testarossa is an incredibly desirable proposition today. Where this car elevates itself is in its rare and incredibly stylish colour combination. Red over black? Pah. White over tan? Cliché much? For us, Argento over Blu is far a more alluring choice for the discerning collector.

Price: £130,000 (GBP)