For all intents and purposes, I am the Ferrari Testarossa. The Ferrari Testarossa is me.

Do I need to clarify that a bit? Well, like I started my DeLorean article a while ago, I am an ’80s guy to the bone. I was born in 1984, when wedge shapes and bold angles were in vogue. Chrome had been eschewed, bright colours and neon effects were all the rage and the whole decade could be compressed to the 3:15 mark in Phil Collins’ In the Air Tonight. The decade produced me, the cars that made the decade made me. What I want most in life is either a DeLorean, a Testarossa or both.

When I walked to the top floor of this exotic car dealership in Helsinki, it was a watershed moment for me; up until now I hadn’t actually been this close to a Testarossa.

Yes, while I make all kinds of huff-puff noises about this Testarossa being the epitome of ’80s cool, this correctly-red example is a 1991. It misses the Most Awesome Decade Ever by a couple years, but that’s the only flaw I can find from it. The paint is lustrously red, the kind of red that enters your eyes and surges into your brain with force and extends your life expectancy by two-three years.

The point of the Testarossa are the wide cooling slats that cut into the sides. They give the car its presence.

Another thing is where those sides lead; the wide, slatted ass. Anybody who’s spent their formative years playing Outrun is right at home, watching the Ferrari’s derriere.

A lot of people appreciate other Pininfarina designs more, but this and the 308/328/288 GTO series are the top Pininfarina works for me.

Ever seen a cooler burglar alarm sticker?

Oh yeah, there were a few other Ferraris in the premises as well. But those do not float my boat like the Testarossa does. Don’t get me wrong, I would never kick them out of bed; but out of this line-up, it’s the ‘Rossa for me every time.

 

[Images: Antti Kautonen & Edvin P.]