Famous Miami Vice Ferrari Testarossa revisited

Retro Motor team

November 7, 2023

A TV star Testarossa
© Mecum - Getty
Miami Vice was the archetypal 1980s TV series – and the cars were as glamorous as the location. None more so than Sonny Crockett’s iconic white Ferrari Testarossa.
Crockett and Tubbs
© Getty
Detectives Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs were played by Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas. Miami Vice ran from 1984 to 1989, during which time they filmed a total of 111 episodes.
The Ferrari Testarossa
© Mecum
To understand how the Ferrari Testarossa ended up appearing in Miami Vice, you have to rewind the clock to the first two series of this action-packed detective show. Back then, Sonny Crockett drove a Ferrari Daytona Spyder? Or did he?
Not the real deal
© Mecum
Ferrari North America turned down the Miami Vice producer’s request for an authentic drop-top Daytona. So a coachbuilding firm called McBurnie was tasked with creating two replicas. In true American style, these were based on a couple of Chevrolet Corvettes.
Take two Testarossas
© Mecum
The fake Daytonas were a huge success, which irritated the notoriously prickly senior management at Ferrari. So they proposed a deal where they’d provide a pair of Testarossas for Miami Vice, in exchange for the destruction of the Daytonas.
A third Testarossa
© Mecum
Two black Ferrari Testarossas were supplied to the production team, which were then painted in authentic Miami Vice white (it matches the suits, you see). However, with so many episodes to film, not to mention the value of these 1980s supercars, a stunt double was also required.
Enter the DeTomaso Pantera
© Mecum
Using a DeTomaso Pantera bought for $30,000 and the parts from a crashed Ferrari Testarossa, Carl Roberts created a stunt double for the pristine cars supplied by Ferrari. According to Popular Mechanics magazine, the ‘DeTarossa’ was treated to more work than Cher.
Built for skids and stunts
© Mecum
The article in Popular Mechanics goes on to describe how a one-piece nose cone was created for easy removal. Custom fibreglass panels were used, which could be replaced swiftly in the event of an accident.
Stiffer and stronger
© Mecum
An additional subframe was bolted to the ‘DeTarossa’s’ chassis, its suspension was upgraded with stiffer springs and the body was ‘shimmied up 1.5 inches’, with extra mounts for greater support. Further work included a NASCAR-spec radiator and extra brake pedals for pitching the car into slides and spinouts.
White cars for filming at night
© Mecum
All of which means the pair of Testarossas donated by Ferrari remained in good condition. Interestingly, they were resprayed because white paint shows up better than black for filming at night. And as any Miami Vice fan will tell you, the criminal underworld tends to operate under cover of darkness.
Sitting in storage
© Mecum
This particular Ferrari Testarossa was placed into storage immediately after filming on Miami Vice finished in 1989 – and it remained there until 2015. However, there’s no word on the whereabouts of Elvis, Sonny Crockett’s alligator.
A total of 16,124 miles on the clock
© Mecum
When it came up for auction, the Testarossa had a modest 16,124 miles on the clock. It has been authenticated by both Ferrari North America and Ferrari’s exacting Classiche department.
Authentic 1980s carphone
© Mecum
As you may have spotted in the previous photo, the Testarossa still features the 80s-tastic car telephone that Sonny Crockett would have used during the filming of Miami Vice. There’s no sign of any illicit white powder inside the car, though.
Ready to rock
© Mecum
Look further down the centre console and you’ll see a pop-up storage system with slots for six cassettes. Perfect for those greatest hits compilations of Jan Hammer, Phil Collins, Glenn Frey, Chaka Khan, Roxy Music and Tina Turner.
Not making a million
© Mecum
Eagle-eyed detectives might remember this Miami Vice car was formerly for sale on eBay, with a ‘buy it now’ price of $1,750,000 (£1,413,000). Despite being listed a couple of times, it failed to sell.
The other Testarossa
© Mecum
The other white Ferrari Testarossa from Miami Vice sold for $750,000 (£606,000) and the eBay vendor claimed he had turned down a bid of $1,000,000 (£810,000) for the car seen here. We like to think the first buyer paid with a suitcase full of laundered bank notes.
What is it worth?
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The four Ferrari Testarossas currently for sale on Auto Trader – all without TV provenance – are advertised for between £115,000 and £170,000. But the Miami Vice car is likely worth a lot more. That said, it failed to sell at the Mecum Monterey auction in 2015, after being bid up to $600,000 (£484,000).
A 4.9-litre flat-12
© Mecum
Still, even taking away the link to Miami Vice, this is a low mileage Ferrari Testarossa with a 390hp 4.9-litre 12-cylinder engine and a five-speed open-gated shifter. Not to mention the selection of 1980s accessories. All you need is a pair of Ray Bans and an Armani jacket.
Michael Mann’s Testarossa
© Mecum
In the former eBay description of the Testarossa, it’s interesting to note that the seller also had a blue 1986 Testarossa that was previously owned by Michael Mann – the director and producer of Miami Vice.
An icon of the 1980s
© Mecum
Ferrari purists will tell you the Testarossa isn’t the best of the breed, but it epitomises the excess-all-areas 1980s like little else. Especially in white with a giant carphone. We wonder where this famous Ferrari is now.