Epic Rat Rod Testarossa Casually Mocks Ferrari Elite
It’s a custom made open top Testarossa project that will perpetually remain unfinished.
Scott Chivers is our kind of enthusiast. As an avid enthusiast of run-down Ferraris, he’s not intimidated by even the biggest of projects, so when he came across a custom-built open top Testarossa that had sat for 20 years, he had to have it. The only thing is, he lives in the UK and this car was taken apart in boxes in California.
Matt Farah sits down with Chivers for a drive in this Ferrari, lovingly called the “Ratarossa.” On English roads, a left hand drive car on right hand drive lanes is a bit tricky, but some open English countryside allows the car to stretch its legs a bit.
Chivers tells Farah, “For this car, what I tried to do is keep everything as original as possible.” Well, at least everything that didn’t include the hacked up convertible job. After sourcing parts and getting it running, the ratty aspect of this Testarossa turned into a thing of admiration. Here was a car that was imperfect in appearance but drove fine, and according to Farah, “you can simply enjoy, instead of restore, which wouldn’t be as rewarding.
And enjoy it he does. Chivers claims, “most people think this is a kit car. If I ever go to an event in this car, I end up jacking up the engine lid so they can see it has a real Testarossa engine, and its the real deal.”
And although it should flop around from lack of torsional rigidity, Farah exclaims that it isn’t a bad ride at all. Perhaps he was being diplomatic by saying “I’ve driven worse,” but it’s still decent praise for a non-professional mauling of the car’s original lines. But that’s exactly why this Ratarossa will keep accumulating mile after mile.
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