What makes this $225k Testarossa so rare? Yep, it’s that colour

Ferraris should be red. Everyone knows that.

So says the unofficial edict of unofficial Ferrari gatekeepers, who can’t believe anyone would mar a piece of Maranello magnificence with any lesser hue. Even though Ferrari offers a broader palette, this cult of colour still finds any divergence entirely unpalatable. It’s apparently something of an unspoken rule, but people can’t seem to shut up about it.

Ferrari buyers, on the other hand, do what they want with their own money, as is their right. And let’s all give a small, knowing nod to the singularly minded soul who, in 1988, bought a brand-new Ferrari Testarossa in brown.

Or, to be specific, Marrone Metallizzato, which sounds much more like it... until you realise that translates to a much humbler ‘Metallised Brown’ in our mostly unromantic language. But if we translate more still, the car’s name comes out as ‘Red Head’, so perhaps we should leave at least a few things well enough alone.  

Clearly, this Testarossa’s owner was a fan of leaving things alone, too. RM Sotheby's - hosting this car in its upcoming Pebble Beach auction - tells us in more than three decades on this planet, this little Auburn Head has only racked up 6,611 miles. Which rather explains its impeccable condition, and does mean we’ll have to rescind that knowing head nod.

After all, Ferraris should be driven. Everyone knows that.