- The “Special Production” Pininfarina-engineered Ferrari Testarossa Spider
- Commissioned as a bespoke project alongside cars made for Brunei royalty
- Ordered new by the consignor in November 1989
- Never previously registered for the road; only 413 kilometres on its odometer
- Subject to over €177,000-worth of restoration work in 2021 by Pininfarina and Zanasi
Given the right level of status—and the bank balance to back it up, almost anything is possible in the world of collector cars. Behind doors which even the most astute of collectors may struggle to unlock, cars considered too wild for mainstream manufacture are created; bespoke projects straight from the imagination are brought to life. Perhaps one of the greatest examples of a collector’s vision made reality is this striking and rare Pininfarina-made drop-top, representing the peak of 1980s excess.
It is understood that towards the end of the decade, Italian coachbuilder Pininfarina was approached to undertake a custom project. The coachbuilder was commissioned to create a supercar unlike any other. It is thought that Pininfarina made seven almost identical but ultimately unique “Spider” adaptations of the bespoke order for Brunei Royalty, each finished in a different exterior and interior colour combination. In addition to these Brunei cars, a very small number of Testarossa Spiders were built for important clients, including the consignor.
Moving away from the global automotive manufacturing convention of a 17-digit VIN, Pininfarina instead created a new, truncated serial number convention for these rare convertible creations. This example is numbered EFG092. This car has never been registered for road use, and have spent much of its life on static display. As such, the odometer displays only 413 kilometres at the time of cataloguing. Due to the lack of any recorded registration document, buyers should check with their local authority prior to bidding with relation to registering this car in their intended jurisdiction.
Revived from its life-long state of static display in 2021, the car was taken to two factories in Italy for restoration work. Firstly, in March of that year, the convertible returned to Pininfarina, where technicians at the Cambiano factory worked on the convertible hood, returning functionality to the open-and-close mechanism, along with a full repaint. One month later, the interior of the car was refreshed by the carrozzeria. The combined total for this restoration by Pininfarina was €94,300.
In November 2021, the car was taken to Carrozzeria Zanasi—the Maranello-based specialist used by the Ferrari factory for the finishing and paintwork of all Prancing Horse supercars, Tailor Made and Icona cars—to tend to the car’s full mechanical condition. Further to the installation of a new clutch and fuel pump, technicians worked to disassemble, clean, and restore the engine and suspension. An itemized bill found in the car’s history file totals €83,170 for the work that returned the Testarossa to “like new” condition
While only one Testarossa Spider was known to have been fully built by the Maranello factory—Fiat boss Gianni Agnelli’s personal car, distinctive in silver with a blue roof, this Pininfarina-built equivalent offers a fascinating insight into a world of ultra-exclusivity. RM Sotheby’s London will offered the rare Ferrari on Saturday, 5 November 2022. It is expected to go for £1,400,000 – £1,800,000 GBP ($1,600,000 – $2,100,000 USD).
