Over the years, we’ve taken a number of Ferraris out in Dubai’s desert, but our experiences were limited to two-digit mileage trips. But what happens when you want to pull a 2,000-mile roadtrip to the Sahara Desert in a retro Ferrari? This is where Harry Metcalfe and his Testarossa step in.
For those who are unsure about the man’s contribution to the automotive world, you should know Harry is the former owner of Evo magazine and now works for Jaguar Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations division. You know, those bunkers engineers that come up with all the crazy JLR stuff these days.
As you can imagine, Harry is a car collector and the kind of guy who doesn’t like to baby his vehicles. After having crossed the Alps in his Countach, he decided it was time to take his other 80s symbol for a trip from the UK to the Sahara Desert.
The 1987 Prancing Horse, dressed in the there’s-only-one-color Rosso Corsa, went on a 2,000-mile (3,200 KM) adventure that saw it being fed tarmac, gravel, sand and snow, among others.
The desert side of the trip saw the Ferrari owing much of its endurance to the flat floor, as well as to the beefy sidewall tires. On a side note, while modern supercars do share the first features, the latter has gone missing.
Drama fans will be disappointed to know this senior Ferrari made it to its destination in one piece. In fact, an issue with the electronic immobilizer was the only major bump on this daring road.
The car isn’t the only nod to the past in this story. In fact, the trip itself is inspired from what Evo did two decades ago. Back in 1995, Richard Bremmer took a Ferrari 512 M, a 90s evolution of the Testarossa, to the Sahara. And yes, Harry used the same hotel two decades later.
In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist. Full profile
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