During the 1970s and '80s it seemed mandatory for the stars of television police dramas to drive around in vehicles ranging from the mega-cool to downright wacky.
Starsky and Hutch drove the most obvious Ford Torino in the world and Lieutenant Columbo ran a Peugeot that should long ago have been sent to the wreckers. But just how did the white-suited dudes from Miami Vice get their hands on a genuine Ferrari?
When the series began in 1984 the car on screen wasn’t a Ferrari at all. Things stayed that way for a couple of seasons until intervention from Enzo Ferrari himself stopped the use (notionally anyway) of any more ‘replicas’.
Miami Vice was a formulaic US police series set in Florida against the backdrop of sand and surf with drug running, people smuggling and money laundering thrown in to spice each episode’s predictable outcome. The Sopranos it was not.
Heading the cast were Don Johnson as Sonny Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Rico Stubbs. Their task was to entrap and outwit drug runners and cops-on-the-take while not looking suspicious at all in designer clothes and driving Ferraris or luxurious speedboats.
Wanting to outshine the automotive stars of rival cop shows, such as Magnum PI with its genuine Ferrari 308GT and while not spending money, the producers of Miami Vice approached the US Ferrari distributor for a loan car.
When that approach failed to elicit any response (apart perhaps from hilarity) they turned to Californian custom shop McBurnie Coachcraft. It had for some time been producing replicas of various Ferraris including the high-value 250GTO and doing it with no apparent interference from the manufacturer of actual Ferraris.
The first Miami Vice Ferrari was purportedly a Daytona Spyder; one of the rarest and most desirable of front-engined Ferrari designs. It was an easy car for McBurnie to copy being almost the same length and width as a C3 Chevrolet Corvette and needing only the addition of fibreglass Daytona-style bodywork.
Viewed from a distance, the subterfuge was quite effective. Just don’t compare the interior of a genuine Daytona Spyder with the fake or lift the bonnet to reveal that the Miami Vice cars still had their Chevrolet V8 engines.
The Daytona survived for two entire Miami Vice seasons and two episodes into the third. Its end would come at the pointy end of a Stinger missile being used by one of the many gunrunners who (apparently) frequented Florida.
The demise of the black Daytona brought to the scene its replacements; a black Ferrari Testarossa supplied via the US distributor and at Enzo’s insistence.
At the time, Ferrari had been running legal action against McBurnie for copyright infringement; action sparked to a large extent by reaction to the apparent use of an ultra-rare Daytona in a television series.
Ferrari’s gesture was graciously accepted but because such costly cars couldn’t be driven in hostile environments or used as camera platforms, into the fray stepped yet another ‘ringer’.
Carl Roberts, who built the four Daytona replicas used in the series, had already devised a plan in case Ferrari had not come to the party. Roberts acquired a Ford-powered, mid-engined (like the Testarossa) De Tomaso Pantera and set about making it look near enough to a genuine Testarossa.
In modified guise, the ‘Pantesta’ was used for chase sequences and other risky behaviour such as driving on the beach. It carried camera mounts which could have ripped the Ferrari’s lightweight steel body panels apart but didn’t do anything more than crack the Pantera’s fake fibreglass. A nose cone that came off in one piece allowed a massive camera rig to be mounted for close-up shots of the car’s occupants during action sequences.
Safety was important and the Pantera-based Ferrari was built more along the lines of a Nascar than a European supercar. The roof and firewall were reinforced and a roll-bar fitted above the driver’s head. The 5.7-litre engine reportedly wasn’t modified but two large containers of nitrous oxide – used to provide short bursts of intense acceleration – were hidden in the front ‘trunk’ area along with a high-capacity radiator.
Making a car slide during television chase sequences takes skill and concentration and is far easier for the driver if the car has been modified in the manner of the Miami Vice stunt vehicle. It used a dual braking system and a second pedal, which allowed the driver to lock the rear wheels while maintaining normal brake control at the front.
At first look, the official Ferrari-supplied Testarossa was a black car. However, after a couple of episodes and requests from the production crew for a car that was easier to see in low light, the Ferraris (two were used for filming) and their Pantera-based stunt double were repainted white. They would remain that way until Miami Vice shot its final sequence early in 1990.
Once the cars were no longer required, the genuine Testarossas went back to Ferrari then to other owners. The two black Daytonas plus another promotional car were not destroyed, despite Ferrari’s insistence. The car that went up in smoke courtesy of the low-flying rocket was nothing more than a mocked-up body filled with pyrotechnics.
Tom McBurnie who created the Daytona Spyder replicas revealed during a recent television interview that prior to Ferrari spiking the project he had built around 350 kits, including the Miami Vice cars.
McBurnie confirmed aspects of film cars that were different from ‘ordinary’ Spyder replicas, however, as the years pass and the delineations become blurred, disputes over authenticity are bound to occur.
One vehicle which was claimed to be a genuine survivor of Miami Vice – purportedly the ‘hero’ car which didn’t get involved in stunt work – was recently offered as part of an online sale at the extraordinary sum of $20 million USD.
Helping to somewhat justify the astronomic asking price was the inclusion of a 38-foot Webcraft Scarab speedboat. It was also certified as having appeared in the TV series and used as a camera platform for various water-to-land tracking shots. Unsurprisingly, the road and ocean-going duo didn’t sell.
Another vehicle claimed to be authentic has of late been displayed in a car museum while the ‘promotional’ car spent time on tour with former Miami Vice actor Philip Michael Thomas and also appeared on the cover of an album released by Thomas.
Life for the Testarossas once their television careers ended was less glamorous or lucrative. One, following its return from active service, was sold and remained out of the limelight until 2014 when it was offered online at a slightly ambitious $1.75 million USD.
The unsurprising ‘no sale’ led it early in 2017 to a classic vehicle auction where the car did sell but for just $152,000. The second white car was and possibly still is in a private collection; its owner claiming to have declined offers of $1 million USD.
As for the Pantera-based stunt car that did all the hard work and received none of the glory, little is known. Some sources claim it went back to constructor Carl Roberts and was destroyed, but not before a brief appearance in an obscure Canadian production entitled Speed Zone. Other sources claim that it was hidden away, steadily accumulating 30 years of mystique and value.
Want a Miami Vice Ferrari but short a few hundred K on the asking price? Then get a miniature version. Various model-makers including Matchbox, Hot Wheels and Burago, Revell and Monogram have over the years produced the Testarossa and Daytona in die-cast or plastic kit form. Scarce versions in their original packaging can top $100 but it’s still possible to pick up a Matchbox Testarossa with the Miami Vice logo smeared across its nose for under $20.
Keyword: Old School: The Ferraris of TV's Miami Vice