QOTD: Officine Fioravanti’s 9,000 RPM Testarestomod Looks Awesome, What Car Should It Tackle Next?

Few cars epitomise the seedy cocaine-fuelled glamor of the 1980s better than a white Ferrari Testarossa like the one Don Johnson drove in Miami Vice.

But the performance car world has come a long way since the stock Testarossa’s 390 hp was considered ample, and we imagine the brakes feel equally antiquated. These days Crocket and Tubbs would be left choking on white dust if they tried to bust bad guys in a supercar with less power than an Audi RS3.

Which is why, when Swiss company Officine Fioravanti set about improving the classic Testarossa, it did absolutely nothing to the cars’s Pininfarina-designed lines, and instead focused all of its attention on upgrading everything else.

The results are stunning. At first glance, it seems to be nothing more than a well-preserved original Ferrari Testarossa. But the 1980s car’s piddly 16-inch five-spoke wheels are swapped for seventeens (front) and eighteens to accommodate GT3-spec Brembo brakes, and both are attached to the body via a suspension setup that includes electronically controlled Öhlins dampers, six-way adjustable anti-roll bars, adjustable ABS and a traction control system that would have seemed like sorcery to an ’80s Ferrari driver.

ICE fans needn’t worry; this isn’t an EV. But it’s not the period 12-cylinder power plant, either, or at least not period-spec. Completely reworked to include a stronger block, new intake and exhaust systems, its redline is up from 6800 rpm to 9000 rpm, and that’s not the only number that’s shot though the roof.

As Fast As An F40

Power is up from 390 hp to 500 hp, torque climbs 96 lb-ft to 443 lb ft, and the finished package sails past the original Testarossa’s 186 mph top speed to record 201 mph with fifth gear selected in the open-gate manual transmission.

But the attention to detail on the interior is every bit as impressive as the love lavished on the running gear. There’s beautifully stitched leather, a gorgeous set of fitted luggage case for the area behind the seats, and switches controlling the exhaust, dampers and traction control that you’d swear were factory fitment if you didn’t know better. And then there’s the crowning glory, a 1980s-style carphone modified to work as Bluetooth phone.

Officine Fioravanti hasn’t revealed how many of these Testarossas it will build, or how much they’ll cost. And neither has it given any hint as to what it might do for an encore. What would you like to see the Swiss team tackle next?

Spoilt For Inspiration

We’re still not sure what connection, if any, the company has to legendary Pininfarina designer Leonardo Fioravanti, beyond its name, but even without stepping beyond the big man’s back catalogue, there’s plenty of inspiration for future projects.

How about a Ferrari 308 GTB/S upgraded with some of the 288 GTO’s swagger, a 348 that drives even better than the seminal 355 that replaced it? Or, and this one would be toughie, what about a Ferrari Mondial sympathetically restyled and uprated to finally shake off the 2+2’s reputation as the run of the Ferrari litter? Let us know what you like to see for project number two.