Florida company inspired the then unqiue convertible top for 348/355

Back in 1989 I attended a Sports Car show on Miami Beach, where I would first meet Gerry Wiegert and see his then new Vector in all its stunning glory.

But the car that really captured my heart was a Testarossa convertible. This car was stunning! The show was in July of 1989, four years before Ferrari would unveil the 348 Spider--its first Ferrari with a top that would emulate the flying buttress design with the top up and down.

All the other Testarossa convertibles, Straman, etc., have traditional tops: The top just folds behind the seats in a long narrow storage area. To me and others, this looked awkward because the flying buttresses gave the TR balance--a design proportion that was lost the chopping of the roof off and that long rear decklid with no buttresses. Same for 308 convertibles that were made. They are disproportionate.

Even the famous Ferrari to Agnelli Testarossa Spider Convertible that recently sold for $1 million has this same awkwardness.

Yet this company in Florida was exhibiting its flying buttress design with a fully functioning Spider back in July of 1989.

The top when down emulated the buttresses with its canvas top.

The top was a power top that raised straight up and featured a large rear glass window. It was actually, in Ferrari tradition, a convertible top with a removable targa so you could drive top up, top down or like a targa.

With the top up it looked like a 348/355 top would look many years later as it had a canvas top that extended the flying buttresses.

I can't help but think someone at Ferrari or perhaps the genius Leonardo Fioravanti himself or one of his co-workers saw this and realized how great a design the top was to keep the car's balance with the roof removed.

Of course, Leo Fioravanti, arguably the greatest Ferrari designer, heck greatest designer of all time, could have designed the 348 top spontaneously.

Either way, its a fascinating design history study.

Here are a few pics of the car from the July 1989 show.....and a photo of a very young Gerry (in a suit) by his Vector at the same show an I believe that's Also Gerry looking at the TR convertible!