The Ferrari Testarossa might not be the most elegant car designed by Pininfarina in the 1980s, nor was it the most extreme or powerful supercar to be built in Maranello in this era. However, with its uncompromising wedge shape and trademark side vents, Leonardo Fioravanti’s design became a stylistic game-changer for the automotive world before it was immortalized through Miami Vice and the Sega video game Out Run as the ultimate poster car of the shoulder pad era. After its launch at the Lido Club in Paris in 1984 – which was recently reenacted by our friends from Reel Art on Wheels to commemorate the 40th anniversary – the Testarossa became the archetypal Ferrari of the time, with almost 10,000 mid-engined Berlinettas leaving the factory until 1996, including its original form and the 512 reincarnations.

But while the success story of the Ferrari Testarossa has been told many times, the tantalising tale of its design development is known only to a select few. Did you know, for instance, that the Pininfarina design team, headed by Leonardi Fioravanti and featuring Ian Cameron, Guido Campoli, Diego Ottina and Emanuele Nicosia, had originally sought to conceal the Testarossa’s iconic air-intakes? Fascinating secrets like these are why we at Classic Driver have teamed up with Pininfarina to celebrate the 40th anniversary by looking back at the creation process that formed the Testarossa during a casual owners’ meet and design talk on 12 November 2024 between 2pm and 4pm at the Pininfarina Collection in Cambiano near Turin. We’re very much looking forward to welcome the great maestro Leonardi Fioravanti who will recount his memories of how the Ferrari Testarossa was designed. He will be joined by his contemporary successor, Pininfarina’s Chief Creative Officer Felix Kilbertus, while the talk will be moderated by Classic Driver’s very own J. Philip Rathgen.

All owners of a Ferrari Testarossa – in all variations from early Monospeccios to late 512Ms or custom conversions – are invited to join Pininfarina and Classic Driver with their cars on this special, invitation-only event. To confirm your attendance with your car at “The Blueprint – 40 Years of Testarossa”, please email us at [email protected] with a short note about yourself and your Testarossa so we can reserve a seat and premium parking spot for you.

RSVP NOW

Please note that availability is limited and we might not be able to host all applicants. And if you would like to join but don’t own a Testarossa yet, this might be the perfect opportunity to make your dream come true: there are plenty of Ferrari Testarossas for sale in the Classic Driver Market.