Help identify year/version of this Testarossa pls.

1988 dual mirror Testarossa

 

It is a Testarossa, and like you said, should be a pre-1988 model. It does however, have the lowers painted to the 512tr look, which is a shame I think. As for it being LHD car, the owner could have imported it in on his/her own. In Japan, it is actually more fashionable if you have a LHD car instead of a RHD car.

 

It's a Euro. No 3rd tail and side markers. The front bumper looks weird to me.

 

For this special run of 15 TR in Japan they were all LHD (something about status of LHD there):

http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=69274&page=1&pp=20

maybe the same reason for "normal" TR to be LHD in Japan?

 

Remember, bumpers can be put on and off, thus difficult to assess just from those pictures.

 

You were already very close! But you just missed one small thing: ALL Japanese version Ferraris are LHD. That's a kind of "status" over there. So, the Testarossa on the pictures is very clearly a Japanese model.

 

Either '87 or early '88 based on the wheels and mirrors.

 

Ouch! I forgot about the Middle East version, which do exist. However, I don't know much about it and I'm not sure if the Middle East versions have a "US-style" rear bumper. So, I guess I can't say more (at least at this moment) than that it is a Middle-East or a Japanese version ...

 

I do know that the S.A. version TR uses the same silencer as the US version TR (so that imples the same rear bumper/trim) -- I'll try to confirm in the SPC later.

 

Send me a PM with the chassis number and I will see what I can find out.

 

According to the 587/90 TR SPC, the TRs that have the same rear bumper/trim/lower grill configuration as the US version are:

SA = Saudi Arabia version
CH = Switzerland version
CAT = Standard version with catalytic converters starting from 82966
CDN = Canadian version
J = Japanese version

 

No they're not... and I've got one to prove it.

You all sure it's LHD? I first looked at pic and thought RHD, and I think they use RHD in Dubai.

 

I would be interested to hear or see more about this.

But please note that I'm not saying that all Ferraris in Japan are LHD. There are certainly a couple of RHD cars too. However, those cars are mainly UK versions ...

As far as I know, the Japanese versions are all LHD ...

I hope the next picture (extreme PhotoShop modification) helps a little bit ...
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Do you mean your 348 Spider? That's a UK version. Or am I misunderstanding you? "Normal" Japanese cars are RHD. The eighth character of the VIN code tells you the version (and Edvar is the expert on this!). In brief: 'A' indicates a US market version, 'C' a UK version, 'D' Australia, 'J' Japan and 'S' Switzerland.

Jonathan

 

Jonathan,

What is the letter for a eu version, I was told when I was in Kuwait buying my 348 Spider (Italian Spec) that there was no deadicated Middle East spec cars till the 456 came out, and they are normally Italian spec cars exported to the Middle East??

Just my 2p worth.

Regards,
Phil.

 

Oops. Sorry, I managed to leave out 'B' for Euro versions and 'T' for Middle East versions. I'm not sure when Middle East-specific versions started. Perhaps Edvar knows?

Here is a link to Edvar's site with the VIN decoding information: http://www.red-headed.com/index2.html. See under Articles, then scroll down to the bottom of the page.

Jonathan

 

Well, my car was first registered in Hong kong (pre-China).

The history I have on the car is: One of the Directors of MHT Ferrari in Gloucester was also a Director/shareholder or some such thing of the main Ferrari importer in Hong Kong. He supplied the Spider to one of his Hong Kong customers who kept it for 7 or 8 years. When he upgraded, my car was shipped back to the UK and was used by the dealer principal at MHT for his own personal car for a year before Leyton, the R.O. for the FOC South Wales Region bought it from him.

So, it may well have been a UK spec car that was supplied but can honestly say I can see no difference in the specs from UK to Hong Kong. One turns right out of the factory gates, the other turns left!

 

Thanks for that Al. Yes, I believe Ferraris sold to Hong Kong were (still are?) UK spec.

Jonathan

 

Just to make sure: in Japan, they drive on the left side of the road, just like in the UK. Normal cars are indeed RHD. However, as a kind of status symbol, many of the "exclusive" cars (like Ferrari, Lambo, Porsche, Merc, BMW, etc.) are LHD.

When I went to Matsuda's Ferrari Brunch Meeting (the biggest Ferrari meeting in Japan), there were 229 Ferraris present. Only TWO of them were RHD (both were UK versions), the other 227 Ferraris were LHD (mainly European and Japanese versions).

For info about VIN numbers (to see which version a Ferrari is), please check my website:

http://www.red-headed.com/articles/vin.html

(the 8th digit of the VIN represents the market/version)