elton
elton

Elton’s Ferrari looking for new digs

Riley Riley

A Ferrari once owned by singer Elton John will be auctioned here in Australia in the next couple of weeks.

The stunning red Ferrari Testarossa was a 40th birthday present to the revered entertainer in 1987 and in an odd coincidence goes under the hammer at Shannons ’40th Anniversary Auction’ from November 23-30.

Perfect for cruising the Yellow Brick Road, the Rossa Corsa (Racing Red) Testarossa was presented to the famous British pop star on as a gift of appreciation by his record company, MCA, in March 1987 — complete with a large red ribbon and a feather boa.

He received the exotic Pininfarina-designed Ferrari from his fleet manager, John Newman, along with other gifts from a guest-list that included Sir Richard Branson, Lulu, Lionel Richie, Tim Rice, and Phil Collins.

The evening concluded with a fireworks show.

Ferrari’s flagship for the ‘80s, the Testarossa became the must have poster car for every teenage boy growing up in the decade when greed became good.

Replacing the ageing Boxer, the Testarossa took the fight up to Lamborghini’s Countach and was a runaway success, outselling every previous model — with no less than 5648 built before the mildly revamped 512 TR came along in 1992.

This ‘single mirror’ Testarossa with its 4943cc flat 12 cylinder engine was also considered at the time to be the fastest production car in the world, making it a worthy addition to the singer’s enviable exotic car collection.

Elton John regards his Ferraris as true classics and loved their design, shape and style. 

During his ownership, the Testarossa  was correctly maintained by Maranello Servicing and Weybridge Automobiles and comes to auction with its odometer showing just 10,735 miles at the time of cataloguing.

The Ferrari remained part of his collection until 2003, but was then sold to a UK dealer.

The car then made its way to Australia around 2010 where it resided with its previous Sydney owner, before being purchased by the current owners some seven years ago.

Elton John
Elton John

 

The Testarossa is now searching for a new home, accompanied by a copy of a signed letter from Sir Elton himself and is expected to sell in the $300,000 to $350,000 range.

Two other great Ferraris will also be offered in the auction – a beautifully maintained and presented 1983 308GTSi QV mid-engined ‘Targa’ coupe ($170,000-$200,000) and an Australian-delivered 2000 model front-engine V12 456M GTA automatic coupe ($140,000-$170,000).

The England-delivered, original factory right hand drive 308GTSi is the desirable QV (quattrovalvole) four-valve per cylinder fuel-injected V8-engined iteration of Ferrari’s mid-engined 308 and is fitted with the sought-after five-speed manual transmission.

Obviously well cared for and complete with its fitted Ferrari car cover, the 308GTSi is beautifully-presented and represents the opportunity to own a great-driving classic late-model Ferrari at its expected selling price of $170,000-$200,000.

An alternative for Ferrari front-engined V12 enthusiasts is a beautiful silver with black leather interior 456M GTA Coupe.

Melbourne-delivered by Lance Dixon Ferrari, the 456M automatic coupe  is thought to have had just three owners and most importantly, it has Ferrari dealer and specialist service history.

Showing just 59,502km at the time of cataloguing, this very desirable Ferrari would be a great addition to any collector’s garage at its expected selling price of $140,000-$160,000.

 

 

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