For decades, it was thought to be a motor industry myth — now it turns out that Fiat president Gianni Agnelli had one made especially for him. Up until now, there were only three ways to drive a Ferarri Testarossa Spider.
The first was by climbing inside the bright red arcade cabinet for 1986 video game “Out Run,” which had used its own version of the production road car.
The second was to order up a custom Testarossa from a bespoke conversion firm, sacrificing Ferrari’s recognition in the process.
The third was to be the Sultan of Brunei, who is said to have taken delivery of five off-the-record models, now part of the royal family’s expansive car collection.
But now, auction house Artcurial Motorcars has revealed that a fourth method existed all along, and it’s one that came with Ferrari’s stamp approval.
The Testarossa Spider wasn’t just a myth: Gianni Agnelli, head of Ferrari’s then-owner FIAT, had secretly commissioned his very own open-top version of the iconic supercar.
Painted silver, an element whose periodic notation AG is the inverse of Agnelli’s initials, the special Spider also houses a white stowaway roof, and sports a blue stripe above its black sills.
The 1986 Ferrari Testarossa Spider Ex Gianni Agnelli will now go to auction at Retromobile 2016, which is to be held February 3-7 at the Paris Expo center, where it is expected to sell for between $750,000 and $1 million USD.
