If I'm understanding what's on Edvar's site correctly, the double high mirrors are fairly uncommon and probably not "factory" installed: go to www.red-headed.com enter the site click on "Articles" click on "versions" (under testarossa) click on "mirrors"
Also, how about the '85 TRs? How many were made, and am I right in thinking they had no side mirrors?
85 and 86 TR's had a single drivers side, high mount mirror. 87 and up have two low mount mirrors. Buyers of early TR's complained of not having a mirror on the right side (left hand drive cars) as well as complaints of the cosmetics of that design. The mounting position had to be changed so that both mirrors could be used from the drivers position. All 85 U.S. cars came with the single mirror, some may have been removed, and certainly several were added to the right side.
Some people added a second mirror to their '85 and '86 cars. It is essentialy the RHD mirror affixed to the car. It is purely for cosmetic reasons. From a practical standpoint it is useless - because of the shape of the mirror / support - the mirror is in pretty much a direct line with the A pillar. You would have to do some gymnastics to see anything out of it - even for parking. Scottie
I appreciate all the replies. I prefer the look of the double flying mirror to the lower mirrors or single flying mirror. I fell in love with the dfm TR spider in "OutRun" and have been looking for one ever since. While the second flying mirror may not be very practical, but it looks a whole lot better than having a low mirror and a flying mirror. I have seen one or two like this and they are ghastly to say the least.
I can attest to that. I drove an '85 TR a couple of weeks ago that had the high RH mirror. I could not see it from the drivers seat. Suprisingly, there is not too bad of a blind spot on the right side thanks to the length of the right rear window. Then again, I was not driving in traffic. This car is also for sale. '85 TR, Black/Tan, ~76,000 miles. It ran well. I can get more information if anyone is interested. The car is located in SE Wisconsin.
I have a single high mounted left side mirror and love the looks. Testarossa's grab your attention. The asymetrical look of that huge mirror mounted up high makes you take a second look. I've never really noticed the mirrors on a car before but once you see an early TR mirror you remember it. I don't really have any complaints about rear vision and don't miss having a second mirror. The center mounted rear view mirror is a pretty cool device too. Have you ever taken one apart to see how it works? There is more to it than you realize. Some engineer spent a lot of time on that device.
I like the look of the single high mirror. I recently saw one on ebay with 2 high mirrors, but preferred the look of the single mirror. It looks a little more exotic than the lower mirrors on my 88. I read once that the high mirror was due to a law that you had to have 100% visibility to the rear. Once the law changed to 80% visibility, the mirror got changed back to its originally intended lower position.
The center rear view mirror is quite an engineering piece of work. There is a pane of clear glass on the outside that gives the appearance of it being a plain old flat mirror like you would find in any other car. But, once you open it up you quickly realize that there is a mirror behind the flat pane of glass. The mirror is set an an angle so that it works almost like a periscope. The rear window on a Testarossa is very small and the "sugar scoop" shaped rear exterior limits side visibility but the mirror seams to overcome all that. I can actually see more through the mirror than by turning my head and looking out the rear glass. Kudo's to whomever designed the device. The side mirror looks great but the reality is that it vibrates at high speed and I can't see anything through it above 70 mph. It's usefulness is limited to low speed driving. I use the side mirror to make sure I don't catch the 6 foot wide TR rear end on my garage door as I back out. Other than that, it's just for looks.
The factory never made a "double" high mirror. The first Testarossas (1984) ha a single high mounted mirror - and by the way also had central locking wheel nuts. Any car with 2 mirrors mounted high had an after-market modification done
I use a a small mirror on a suction cup that I found at Pep Boys years ago that is stuck to the right of the rear view mirror on the windscreen. This helps me see the right side of the car when changing lanes. I also love the single mirror.