Dig out that light-gray Armani jacket and a pair of leather loafers (ed: two steps ahead of you, hombre) because that's what it'll take to view this next auction item properly. Crockett and Tubbs' Ferrari Testarossa is finally done with police duty or whatever it was they were doing, and it's headed to Mecum Auctions' Monterey sale. That's Detective Sonny Crockett and Detective Ricardo Tubbs of the Miami-Dade PD, a very permissive law-enforcement agency that believes in looking good while catching bad guys, and that you have to be seen to get noticed.
The Ferrari Testarossa in question is a 1986 model that was supplied for the show by Ferrari (the music was supplied by Jan Hammer). It is said that Ferrari originally gave two black Testarossas for the show, but that director Michael Mann had the car repainted for better visibility in night scenes. It is also rumored that the Testarossa was Enzo Ferrari's own idea for the show, to replace the Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Spyder that the dynamic duo used during the first two seasons and two episodes of the third season of the show.
Regardless of how the Testarossa joined the show, the car was the real thing, as opposed to a 1980 Chevrolet Corvette C3 chassis wearing a reproduction shell of a Daytona.
The Testarossa comes with a phone, which you can use to call 1986 to give it some stock tips.
This Testarossa is an early example, which means it features a sole high-mounted side-view mirror on the driver's side. The car that made side strakes the design element of the decade is of course powered by a 4.9-liter flat-12 producing 390 hp. The seller claims that the 16,124 miles the car now shows are genuine, as is the so-'80s-it-hurts car phone in the cabin. This example of course features power seats, cruise control, air conditioning, power locks and a beige leather interior. What it does not feature are Ray-Ban sunglasses or a stereo cassette with Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight," but that can be easily rectified. Mecum Auctions indicates that this car recently received a scheduled engine-out service to the tune of $8,000, which is a good consolation -- and par for the course, explaining why Testarossa values have stayed in the $60,000 range for a while.
This particular example made some waves a few months ago when it was listed on eBay with a $1.75 million asking price. As you've guessed by now, it didn't sell for a variety of reasons, despite being the Testarossa with the single coolest backstory one could ask for in a Testarossa.
The early Testarossas, you will recall, had a single high-mounted mirror.
Mecum does not list an estimate for this Testarossa, but it's worth noting that average examples now trade in the $80,000 to $90,000 range, while the best examples have lately surged up to just over $120,000. It is also worth noting that Condition One examples were selling merely at about $60,000 just three years ago, so we are in the midst of a resurgence in value for this model that has not yet spread to other '80s Ferraris.
The last year also saw several delivery-condition examples emerge from slumber -- cars that were picked up on the cheap when the stock market crashed in the late 1980s. The upward trend in values has undoubtedly forced those pickled examples out of hibernation, though we don't expect that we've seen a peak in values just yet. The "Miami Vice" history of course places this example outside the realm of regular low-mileage Testarossas, but it remains to be seen just how nostalgic the market is for the era of raspberry-colored suits.
The Testarossa will be offered at Mecum's Monterey sale on Aug. 15. Visit the auction website to view the complete list of lots and auction schedule.
Jay Ramey grew up around very strange European cars, and instead of seeking out something reliable and comfortable for his own personal use he has been drawn to the more adventurous side of the dependability spectrum. Despite being followed around by French cars for the past decade, he has somehow been able to avoid Citroën ownership, judging them too commonplace, and is currently looking at cars from the former Czechoslovakia. Jay has been with Autoweek since 2013.
