Today I had the ultimate experience any car guy can have. Before I started my fleet service business I was Group Sales Manager for one of the largest megadealerships on the east coast. We sold just about any brand you can name. One of them was not Ferrari but when I was still racing, in the sixties, among the cars I got to drive was a Ferrari.
One of the partners called me and ask me to evaluate a Testarossa that a customer wanted to trade on a Ford GT that was scheduled to arrive at one of the groups Ford dealers. I said sure, who would not want to drive a Testarossa. I drove down to the dealership and there sat a mint 89 Testarossa with 19K on the clock. The owner was a 28 year old guy that worked as one of the Super tech at one of the groups MB dealerships, about 50 miles away. I put the car on the lift, gave it the one over, top and bottom. It indeed was mint. I asked him where he got it. He told from an old guy like you that was afraid to drive it anymore. I asked him what he paid, if he didn't mine telling me. He told me, 50K in 1999 with 14K on the clock. I ask for permission to truck it up to Pocono raceway so I could evaluate it off the highway. He said NO, lets drive there. I made a few phone calls and about an hour later I was flying around the track at 150 MPH for two laps. I was thinking, what I life I lead, how many car guys ever get to see a Testarossa let along drive one at
150 MPH on a race track with the owner telling me to "It will go a lot faster," with a $1,000 check in my pocket for performing the evaluation??On the way back he asked me what I thought it was worth. I told him I needed to consult with the dealership owners. When we got back to the dealership there was a big orange covered tractor trailer sitting on the lot. There must have been twenty dealership employees, some taking pictures and a few dozen customers and a two local police officers standing around the van. I thought maybe the truck ran over somebody because NOBODY even looked at the Ferrari as we drove on the lot, strange.
I soon discovered why we went unnoticed. The van was dropping of their Ford GT. There were still three on the van since we could see when the driver open the side door. The one the dealership got was a red with white stripes that add $7,000 to the sticker total of near $160,000. The driver dropped a gate from the back of the truck that went straight back, backed the GT unto that ramp then lowered the car to the ground. No taking that thing over and pitched ramps it seems. As soon as he was off the ramp he asked the assembled who it responsible for receiving this car? The Poor Sales Manager, who probably never saw a car in the dealership worth more then 50K said I guess I am. As he walked over to sign the delivery form I said, "Don't you think you should do the check in process first?" Every one ot the employees was afraid to drive the GT and nobody knew where to put it. I offered to ask the dealer since I was going to call him anyway. He told me to take it over to *** building (where the group stores the expensive brands they sell.) I suggested 50K for the Testarossa and 65K retail but he said I just had a call from a guy in Oklahoma, seems the delivery schedule for all Ford GT's is available to dealers all over the country, offering $225,000 and no trade. Ford is only building 1,500 GT this ones number was just over 700 The Testarossa was a 16 year old model but its like new. In my opinion the guys at Ferrari should drive a supercharged V8 Ford GT before they build anymore $250,000 cars
I could not believe my good luck. Not only did I get to drive the Testarossa, I was also getting to drive the GT for nearly 25 miles. Most people will never get to see cars like this in their lifetime and here I was getting to not only see TWO of the greatest cars ever built, on the same day, and I'm getting to DRIVE them as well and on the same day. Wait till I see my friend Mario. We raced on the old dirt track in Nazareth but HE got to race and win in cars like this all over the world when we were 50 years younger. ;)
mike hunt