One to Buy: ex-Joe Pytka / Michael Jackson 17,000 mile 1986 Ferrari Testarossa Straman Spider
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In terms of the cars Ferrari should have officially offered during the 1980s, perhaps the best candidate was a Spider version of the iconic Testarossa.
We use the phrase ‘officially offered’ because Pininfarina did produce a tiny handful of Testarossa Spiders for VIP clients such as Fiat Chairman Gianni Agnelli and the Brunei Royal Family, however, it was not possible to walk into a Ferrari showroom and place an order for a drop top derivative of Ferrari’s Flat 12-engined supercar.
To fill this void, a number of aftermarket firms began to provide a Spider conversion service for existing Testarossa owners, perhaps the best known of which was Richard Straman Coachworks based in Newport, California. For a circa 40% price premium over a stock Testarossa, the Straman company would remove the roof, add suitable structural reinforcement to the chassis and fit a bespoke folding canvas roof.
Richard Straman’s firm is understood to have converted a dozen Testarossas to Spider trim in period, arguably the most famous of which is currently on the market at the Canepa showroom in Scotts Valley, California.
Chassis 65417 was supplied new to renowned American film, television, commercial and video director, Joe Pytka, who wanted it to star as Michael Jackson’s car in an elaborately produced four-part 1987 Pepsi commercial.
Pytka retained his black Testarossa (one of just two Spiders completed as such by Straman) until 2013. Since then, the car has remained in the possession of just one other custodian and is today being offered in superb condition throughout with a little under 18,000 miles on the odometer.
