It was 1986. One of the cruise ship’s ports of call was Puerto Rico. At a local gift shop, a 9-year-old boy received his first “nice” car model, a 1:18th scale Ferrari Testarossa. He’d spend far too much time in his stateroom, with no lights but the small bedside reading light, turning the model while admiring how the light danced over the curves and edges of Ferrari’s most influential car: a World Car in every way. The vehicle that refined the Super Car. It defined a decade, and warped the minds of several generations of car enthusiasts. And it took this boy to a Motown design school, and eventually to a little car blog called TTAC.
Sergio Pininfarina once called the Testarossa “an exaggeration in flamboyance.” A fitting quote for what must be the most famous vehicle to leave his design studio. And while he might be right, compared to today’s flamboyant Fezzas, the Testarossa was veiled in understatement and modernist modesty.
So let’s dig deep into the Mehta Brothers garage, and check out Dr. Mehta’s 1989 Testarossa: a car we’ve wanted for decades. (Read More…)
Tagged as 1980s, 80s, Analysis, Design, Ferrari, Miami Vice, Pininfarina, Pop Culture, Sergio Pininfarina, Styling, Super Car, Testarossa
Recent Comments
Onus - You know nothing. The us is still one of the largest automotive producing countries. I...
05lgt - Thanks for sharing Phil. Beautiful to me.
AFX - The problem with these types of loan ideas is that they’re trying to force future...
Windy - ok where is the explanation of the double meaning of the poster add with the dependable German Shepard dog? Was there a car that you were...
Mathias - Thanks for the memories, Bertel. I remember the late 70s/early 80s quite well, unfortunately.. and the Manta-Witze… but I have no...
shaker - Thanks for a (seemingly rare) positive look at this program – certainly less than...
Geekcarlover - Wait. Using photographs of animals is abuse? I’m thinking of those captioned kitties all over the interwebs. Oh, the humanity!
golden2husky - You know, other than a few outspoken people on this site, the vast majority of America has moved to the next thing a long time ago. Those folks open minded enough...
AFX - This is one of those stories that leaves me wondering why some people find certain cars attractive. I remember the 300M when it first came out, and I never paid that much attention...
Kevin Jaeger - That’s deep – you’re saying Bertel thinks there’s a wall of criticism about to be unleashed on him, and this...