Who Will Save This Abandoned Ferrari Testarossa In Puerto Rico?

4 years, 5 months ago - 16 July 2020, motor1
Who Will Save This Abandoned Ferrari Testarossa In Puerto Rico?
A Testarossa-shaped needle in a haystack.

He's done it again, YouTube personality and car finder Scott Chivers, a.k.a Ratarossa has found another abandoned classic Ferrari. For the uninitiated, Chivers isn't afraid to get his fingernails dirty and finds rare Ferraris to restore them to their former glory. Aside from finding them, his Ratarossa name comes from a Testarossa rat rod that he built up from a rolling chassis.

While he's built one in the past, this time around Chivers wanted to find a full Testarossa for himself. With help from Abandoned Cars Puerto Rico, he successfully found a car. Unbelievably, the owner had possession of the Testarossa for its entire lifetime and was willing to sell it.

The Ferrari had apparently been left on the island for 17 years. At a glance, the car looked rough around the edges but didn't appear to be a complete write-off. While the entire car needed some work, there was a place for everything and everything in its place. Being the skilled car restoration specialist that he is, Chivers analyzed a walk-around video to see if the car was worth saving.

With the dire condition of the exterior, the biggest job was to respray the entire car. Luckily all of the body panels seemed straight and didn't feature any dents. Additionally, nothing was missing from the car, meaning that it could be parted out if the restoration proved unsuccessful. That said, the interior didn't age well. The heat and sunlight destroyed most of the interior bits meaning that most everything would need to be completely replaced.

All things aside, the most unbelievable discovery was that the engine hadn't seized during its dormant years. With great bones, the car was offered at a very great price of $30,000 (£23,822). With everything on the Testarossa being so expensive, Chivers could make a decent profit on just parts.

While shipping costs led Chivers away from taking on the project, he offered to lend a hand to whoever did. He says if the car were located in the U.K. it would be a different story.