When the Ferrari Testarossa made its public debut at the Paris Motor Show in October 1984, it stopped the automotive world in its tracks. Ferrari’s designers had taken the practical problem of cooling a big mid-mounted flat-12 engine and turned it into theatre. Those long horizontal side strakes fed air into the side-mounted radiators, but they did it with pure new-wave swagger.
When a white Testarossa appeared on Miami Vice in 1986, it cemented the legacy of the car as exotic, high-tech, and stylish enough to pak under a synthwave sunset. Naturally, everybody copied it.
The Testarossa look influenced everything from Lamborghini Countach body add-ons to the wildest corners of the custom-truck scene. And yes, that meant big American pickup trucks could be turned into Truxarossas with the addition of a fiberglass body kit. The Ferrari’s side-intake drama was grafted onto front-engine trucks where, let’s be honest, those strakes were not feeding radiators. They were injecting Miami Vice-era cool directly into the sheetmetal.
Take a look at the white 1998 Dodge Ram 3500 dually in these pictures. What else would Sonny Crockett have used to tow his cigarette boat?
Back in the day, companies like Godfather’s Customs built fiberglass kits under names like Truxarossa for mini-trucks such as Toyotas, Mazda B-series pickups, Chevy S-10s, Nissan Hardbodies, and apparently full-size Dodge Rams too.
The Quad Cab dually may be the biggest, baddest version of the second-generation Ram, a truck that already had a Peterbilt-inspired grille, swollen fenders, and a face made for clearing slow traffic from the passing lane. Not exactly what the designers in Maranello were picturing when they penned their Italian supercar.
This tow rig was photographed in the paddock at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park during an Enduro Elite race weekend, and the amazing part is how good it still looks. It is definitely not Ferrari-approved, but it is absolutely period-correct. Add some neon underglow, slide a Jan Hammer soundtrack into the cassette deck, and the whole thing makes perfect sense.
Those side strakes may not cool a mid-engine exotic, but they do something just as important. They feed nostalgia directly into the driver’s bloodstream.
LOL, but cool in an odd sort of way!
I think that Testarossa Truck is one of the weirdest vehicles on 6 wheels. I would understand adding those ‘side strakes’ to a sports car, taking inspiration from Maranello.
But a truck? A dually no less—just plain odd.