Ferrari Testarossa Monospecchio

Why it matters

The first production Testarossas carried one of the most distinctive mirror arrangements ever fitted to a road car: a single exterior mirror mounted high on the driver's-side A-pillar. The configuration became known to collectors as Monospecchio—Italian for ‘single mirror’—or simply the flying-mirror Testarossa. It appeared on cars built from the model's 1984 introduction until Ferrari adopted two conventionally positioned mirrors during 1986 production. These early examples also used elegant five-spoke wheels secured by a single central nut, a feature often described as Monodado; center-lock wheels continued after the mirror change until five-lug wheels arrived in 1988, so the two nicknames identify related but not identical characteristics. Mechanically, the Monospecchio shared the original European Testarossa's 4,943 cc, four-valve flat-12, producing 390 cv through a five-speed gated manual gearbox. Its side-mounted radiators, full-length strakes and exceptionally wide rear bodywork remained defining functional elements rather than decoration. Ferrari did not publish a separate production total for the mirror configuration, making authenticated early cars especially prized. As the closest production form to Pininfarina's dramatic launch design, the Monospecchio deserves recognition apart from the later dual-mirror evolution while remaining historically part of the same Testarossa model line.