Say what you will about Richard Rawlings and Gas Monkey Garage, but they have a vision. Maybe that vision is clouded in social media/reality show antics, but something often emerges from the fog that makes a statement that you may not have expected. At the 2023 SEMA Show, this Testarossa is what they brought and, I imagine, Il Commendatore would not be happy.
“Changing the game and angering the purists . . . meet the Gas Monkey ‘Testa’,” says the Garage’s announcement. “A Ferrari Testarossa completely reimagined. This striking reinterpretation of the Testarossa boasts a complete custom roadster chop design, center-seat steering, and a complete electric conversion.”
This Testarossa was part of a set of five stunt vehicles used for the movie Infinite with Mark Wahlberg. The Ferraris were rode hard and put away wet, which gave Gas Monkey Garage an opportunity to buy the set and demonstrate its creativity. The electric conversion was handled by Arizona-based Legacy EV, the Arizona-based, which installed its Cascadia Motion IDM-190 kit that includes a 300-horsepower BorgWarner electric motor, 8.28-ratio transmission, and CM200 inverter. Thirty-six Kore Power batteries (most situated where the now-superfluous fuel tank was located) power the motor. Other, more conventional components have been updated, Bilstein AS2-R adjustable race coilovers and 15-inch Brembos among them.
So, why should Ferraristis be offended? After all, Ferrari is slated to offer its first fully battery-powered supercar in 2025, with Ferrari’s CEO proclaiming that it will be “everything you dream the engineers and designers at Maranello can imagine for such a landmark in our history.” And, besides, Ferrari has already produced several hybrids that include LaFerrari, SF90 Stradale, and 296 GTB. “Our interpretation of these [EV] technologies both in motor sport and in road cars is a huge opportunity to bring the uniqueness and passion of Ferrari to new generations.”
Gas Monkey Garage created something akin to a Ferrari speedster, but the Texans appear to have done their best to maintain the Ferrari vein. If you didn’t know any better, would you have thought this was a 1980s show car relic, complete with Miami White paint and Vossen Wheels? And check out the interior, which features a Daytona-inspired bucket smack-dab in the middle of three-abreast seating like the 365 P Berlinetta Speciale.
For those who point out the sonorous wailings of the V12 are MIA, fear not, fans of the cavallino rampante, as Gas Monkey Garage has a Ferrari 812 Superfast at SEMA that has maintained its V12.
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