In July, a story surfaced of a neglected 1988 Ferrari Testarossa abandoned on a street in Puerto Rico. At that time, I covered how the car had sat for 17 years prior to a Youtuber with a channel called Ratarossa becoming aware of it. He took a pass on purchasing the Ferrari but wanted to know what would happen to it. Well, he just shared that the neglected Testarossa has more to its story now. Let’s say, it wasn’t left to decay on the island. 

Remembering the Ferrari Testarossa

The Ferrari Testarossa is an iconic supercar from the 1980s. The car’s crisp lines, pop-up headlights, and creative door side strakes captured the fascination of many across the globe. Aside from the fame associated with the Ferrari name, the car also showed up in the pop-culture television show, Miami Vice, lending to an even greater level of exposure and fame for the brand. 

The Ferrari Testarossa has a mid-mounted naturally aspirated 4.9-liter V12 that could pump out 385 horsepower. Flappy paddle gearboxes were not popular yet. So, this car had a five-speed manual gearbox. The top speed for the car was rated at 180 mph. In short, it was a Ferrari, it was fast, and it looked striking. It was the supercar of its day.

The abandoned supercar has a new owner

The Ratarossa Youtube channel has a new post regarding the happenings associated with the abandoned Ferrari Testarossa. It turns out that a local enthusiast had been trying to purchase the car for a long while. Eventually, the owner gave in to the offers of the local gentleman, named Leonardo, who purchased it for $30,000. 

Once in hand, Leonardo and his father set about restoring the Testarossa immediately. It is unknown if the father-son duo had some of the parts on-hand already or not. But, undoubtedly, some new parts were probably purchased to restore the car properly. Even so, they set an aggressive timeframe of three months for the restoration of the Ferrari. 

The restoration of the Ferrari is one month in

The newest video update on the project says that the restoration duo is one month into their planned schedule. Already they have changed out the gas tank, fuel pumps and removed the rear-sub frame to address the maintenance to the engine. New brake pads were also installed. Of course, they have tackled the interior as well, cleaning out the filth and repaired or replaced the seats, dash, and carpet.

The video update is posted below. It is amazing to see the progress just in the first month of the project. The car even has what seems like a fresh paint job. Take a look.

This Ferrari Testarossa was purchased from the original owner having only 15,000 original miles before it was parked. When the car was finally towed away, the sun and critters had done their damage. But, the car still started even after sitting for over a decade. So, Leonardo pursued the purchase. Now, the glimpse into Leonardo’s Testarossa rebuild is bringing many Ferrari fans joy. However, there are still another couple of months before the supercar icon will live again as a complete, working vehicle. So, we will continue to keep an eye out for the build’s news and keep you informed.