The Ferrari Testarossa Spider one-off ex Agnelli!

Vehicle Overview

The Ferrari Testarossa was built specially at Maranello for l’Avvocado Gianni Agnelli, to mark the anniversary of his taking over the multinational company FIAT S.p.A. For this occasion, the gift needed to match the importance of both the event and the personality. According to Ferrari archives, the construction of the body started on 27 February 1986 and was finished and delivered four months later, on 16 June. It was registered in Turin with the personalised number plate TO 00000G ! The service book, in the name of I.F.I Spa (the financial company owned by Gianni Agnelli) recorded the warranty as starting on 13 June 1986. The original Targa supplied with the car passed into the name of Giovanni Agnelli on 18 March 1987. A copy of the Foglio Complementare records the ownership changing from Agnelli to the current owner on 29 November 1991. His children, who are selling the car, have told us that Gianni Agnelli was a close friend, who regularly played poker with them. One day, their father, on his way to a party with Agnelli, saw and fell in love with this Spider and Agnelli sold it to him. The body by Pininfarina simply carries the number ‘1’ ! It’s colour was not a random choice, but chosen because AG (for Agnelli Gianni) is the symbol for silver in the periodic table. The car is liveried in ” Argento 101/C ” and highlighted with elegant ” Blu 3282 ” bands and ” Blu 168 ” carpets. Looking closely at this very special Testarossa, it is clear that it has been very carefully designed. It was not simply a case of crudely removing the roof and replacing it with a hood and rear cover. No, we are in the presence of an automobile meticulously designed by an engineer. What’s more, extra controls have been added to the dash : below the control for the windows, there is an electronic button to raise and lower the hoop maintaining the angle of the hood. We were also surprised to discover a very special gear-change system. By pressing one of the buttons on the central console, between the two seats, the clutch pedal retracts and gives way to a Valeo system. A serious car accident in his youth had left Gianni Agnelli with a slight problem with his left leg. An automatic system of changing gear had been developed to allow l’Avvocado to use the gearbox more comfortably. This special system can also be seen on the F40 built specially for him three years later. On this Testarossa, the driver therefore has the choice of changing gear manually or, by pressing a button, activating the Valeo electronic clutch system. The system for lowering the roof has also been cleverly thought out, featuring a hood that folds easily under an integrated hard tonneau cover. The Spider will be delivered with its original leather folder that includes the Uso di Manutanzione, list of dealers and service book. The odometer records 23 000 km from new and in preparation for the auction, a thorough service has just been carried out in the workshops of Ferrari Pozzi Levallois (a bill for €20 000 is dated November 2015). In automobile history, the Testarossa is a perfect symbol of the 1980s, just as the Lamborghini Countach ‘Periscopo’ represents 1970s design. There is no other car from this period that dared to adopt such a radical design, with its unique air intakes on panels designed by the wind and generously styled rear end ! This totally unique Spider presents the opportunity to buy a ” one-off ” car designed by the factory for the most famous Italian industrialist and businessman, l’Avvocato Giovanni, known as ‘Gianni’ Agnelli. It was sold by Artcurial in 2016 for 1,210,080 € !