Including revised variations, almost 10,000 cars in total were produced, making it at the time one of the most mass-produced Ferrari models.

[2] The car dropped the TR initials and added the M which in Italian stood for modificata, or translated to modified, and was the final version of the Testarossa,[2][3] which continued its predecessor's weight distribution improvement of 42% front, 58% rear.

The Testarossa is a recognized cultural icon of the 1980s, and was popularized by media including the 1984 television series Miami Vice (from the 1986 season onward) and Sega's 1986 video game Out Run.

[7] The problems that the Testarossa was conceived to fix included a cabin that got increasingly hot from the indoor plumbing that ran between the front-mounted radiator and the midships-mounted engine and a lack of luggage space.

The design team at Pininfarina consisted of Ian Cameron, Guido Campoli, Diego Ottina and Emanuele Nicosia.

The designers were originally trying to minimize the necessary side intakes, which also could not be left open due to American safety legislation, but then decided on making them a statement of style instead - one that ended up becoming emblematic of the late eighties.

[7] The side strakes sometimes referred to as "cheese graters"[7] or "egg slicers,"[10] that spanned from the doors to the rear fenders were needed for rules in several countries outlawing large openings on cars.

The "Testarossa" name pays homage to the famed 1957 World Sportscar Championship-winning 250 Testa Rossa sports racing car.

[7] Testa Rossa, which literally means "red head" in Italian, refers to the red-painted cam covers sported by both cars' 12-cylinder engines.

Its engine used near identical displacement and compression ratio, but unlike the 512 BBi had four-valve cylinder heads that were finished in red.

[4] When introduced for the 1985 model year, the Testarossa had magnesium single bolt "knockoff" wheels with a 16.33 inches (415 mm) diameter.

The rear suspension consisted of independent, unequal-length wishbones, coil springs, twin telescopic shock absorbers on each side, and an anti-roll bar.

The entire drivetrain and suspension was designed to be removed as a unit from underneath the car so the engine and timing belts could be serviced.

The car received a positive reception from the automotive press - it was featured on the cover of Road & Track magazine 10 times from December 1984 through July 1989.

Michael Mann, executive producer of the series, also had a custom painted, blue metallic Testarossa.

[citation needed] As Ferrari's flagship model during the 1980s, the car made numerous appearances in pop culture, most notably in the arcade game Out Run, and in the third, fourth, and fifth seasons of Miami Vice.

[2] The side strakes also spawned body kits that were designed for cars such as the Pontiac Fiero and the Mazda B-Series pickup trucks (these were referred to as "Truxtarossa" kits), in addition to a wide variety of Japanese and American sports cars and motorcycles such as the Honda VFR.

Another recall was issued in relation to the passive restraint system on seat belts not functioning properly, on over 2,000 cars.

[29] If the restraint system suffered a mechanical or electrical failure only the lap belt would provide safety to the occupant.

Most importantly, engine and gearbox position was rethought, which improved the centre of gravity, aiding the handling and making the car easier to drive.

Pietro Camardella[30] at Pininfarina was tasked with redesigning the body of the car for better integration of the newly included spoilers and the new engine cover.

[34] Due to new titanium connecting rods and a new crankshaft that together weighs 7.26 kilograms (16.0 lb) less than those that they replace, the engine has a 7,500 rpm electronic rev limit.

The gearshift knob had a chromed finish, the aluminum pedals were drilled, and air conditioning was now included as standard.

[38] Despite many requests from interested customers for a Testarossa Spider, Ferrari refused to produce the car as a regular production variant of the Testarossa, citing spatial and structural challenges that would be difficult to resolve,[39] and so Pininfarina and some aftermarket firms such as Straman, Pavesi, Lorentz and Rankl, and Koenig Specials offered unofficial Spider conversions on special consumer requests.

The only differences, other than being a convertible, are that the Spider's front window and door windows are both shorter than those of the normal car and it has a special transmission manufactured by Valeo installed which is convertible to both automatic and the standard 5-speed manual versions with the push of a button, a technology ahead of its time.

[38][41] A red Testarossa convertible is the feature car in Sega's arcade and home-console video-game franchise Out Run.

[43] The Ferrari FX was a special order sports car custom made by Pininfarina[44] at the request of the 29th Sultan of Brunei.

It featured the flat-twelve engine of the Ferrari F512 M, on which it is based, and a 7-speed sequential manual transmission from the Williams Formula One team.

[44][45] The FX has a top speed of around 205 mph (330 km/h),[44] yet Ferrari claimed "We don't want to make the fastest car in the world".

The engines were stock units, having a power output of 390 PS (287 kW; 385 hp) and having a rear-wheel drive layout, but the radiators were moved to the front of the car.