If the Porsche 956 we recently profiled is a bit too pricey for you, but you still hanker for something unique and with a sporting heritage, then Italian car dealership Maranello Purosangue (Italian for “pure blood” or “thoroughbred”) has a cheaper alternative.
“Cheaper” is relative of course, but the US$1.7 million ($2.48 million) being asked for the one-off Ferrari Testa D’Oro Colani is actually something of a bargain. And not just compared to the Porsche.
The unique creation started life as a bog-standard Testarossa that famous industrial designer Luigi Colani decided to convert into a car that could set top speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Anyway, Colani designed the aerodynamically slippery body and got Lotec to work on the engine. Lotec ended up working with Ferrari to slap a pair of turbos on the Testarossa’s big ol’ flat-12 engine to produce a massive 750 horsepower (560kW), which was enough for the Testa D’Oro Colani to win its class at Bonneville in 1991 topping 218mph (350.8km/h).
While not exactly pretty, the car most certainly is unique. And fast. Don’t forget fast.