the flyin' scotsman

Thanks folks for all the comments...........I'll be test driving the 'red head' tomorrow assuming the weather is still reasonable.

JP..........sent you a PM re. the test comparisons

Randy V

My only advice, before the move, is drive one - for a day - before you think you've fallen in love.

It's a sexy toy, but you may find there are other marques out there that are more user-friendly while still delivering that rolling-sex factor.

BiggerTwin

I was looking at Ferraris last week and the dealer told me they need service every 15,000 miles or 5 years and the cost is about $5,000 - $6,000. Makes replacing a rear main engine seal on a Porsche look cheap.

Nicole

Some time ago I spoke with a gentleman who owns a Testarossa and bought a 928 for his father at the time. He also owned a Dodge Viper, and his daily driver was a Mercedes SL AMG. His son had a Countach... (yeah, yeah, famous rock singers can afford such stables...)

Anyway, he was totally in love with his Testarossa. It's what got him really excited. The Viper, so he said, was a piece of crap, and the Countach a useless toy. He did not say much about the 928, as he never drove it much himself, and the Mercedes AMG did seem like a nice mode of transportation without getting the adrenalin pumping too much.

On the other hand, I have spoken to a mechanic who worked on a Testostarossa, and he confirmed that the maintenance cost of these cars is out of our (928 owners) world... An owner of a 348 once told me he paid about $15k for a large service (engine had to be removed to do all the work). You have to decide whether that's worth it for you...

BTW: My 928 loves redheads...

tam993

I'm looking for one also (testarossa).
I think if you find one that's been sorted out already they aren't too bad to keep.
God help you if you need parts and major service. I'll still buy one though.
Just sold Ferrari and bought 993.
I think Porsche edges out Ferrari on numerous catagories, I can atest to it.

S2TGART

I have books on the making of the early cars and the pictures show the engine being part of a sub-asssy and being fitted from below. I also have a book on the 512TR and the engine comes in from above.

CAMO928S4

Hi, would like to read or get a copy of that reprint if you still hâve it
Hâve à friend that´s buy a TR and was asking how my 928S4 would "hang" with the Testarossa .
Tanks for the info in any case

JPTL

The article was in the June 1989 issue of Automobile Magazine. The article mostly focuses on the ZR-1, but compares all 3. I took the summary comparisons/ratings between the 928 GT and the Testarossa and put them on a single page:





Here's a link to a much higher resolution version.
The whole article (12 pages) makes for a huge zip file, but if you'd like to get the whole article in original print form, there's one on eBay right now for $5.95 shipped to US (not sure about Canada).
And here's an interesting tidbit:
The 928 GT was reportedly $76,000 new in 1989; considerably less than half of the $180,000 Testarossa.
In today's dollars, that's $147,000 for the 928 GT (about what a nicely optioned C4S will run you)...
and $348,000 for the Testarossa (about what a nicely optioned F12 Berlinetta will run you).