When it comes to classic American crime drama TV series, Miami Vice is arguably the most iconic show of the 1980s. The series drew heavily upon 1980s new wave of culture and music and it is recognized as one of the most influential television shows of all time. To gearheads, Miami Vice is particularly important for the large number of notable cars used on the set. Throughout the five seasons produced by NBC, the show featured Lamborghinis,->ke44 Maseratis,->ke51 Porsches,->ke1 Corvettes->ke1280 and a host of muscle cars.->ke507

However, there's a particular automobile that drew a lot of attention in Miami. I'm talking about the white Ferrari Testarossa that made constant appearances in the series, beginning with the third season. The Miami Vice Testarossa's story is as interesting as the supercar->ke177 itself. Ferrari->ke252 donated two brand new 1986 model year Testarossa as replacements for the 1972 Ferrari Daytona Spyder 365 GTS/4 kit replica based on a Chevrolet Corvette C3 chassis that the Italians had removed from the show following a lawsuit. From then on, the white Testarossa became one of Miami Vice's main characters during the third season.

It's been a little more than 25 years since the show was canceled and one of the two original Ferrari Testarossas used by Universal Studios is now up for sale on eBay. The Italian supercar has only 16,000 miles on its odo, and comes with full documentation and service history. The Testarossa is also documented by Ferrari North America, and, not surprising, it's being offered at a massive "Buy It Now" price of $1.75 million. Granted, that's a lot of dough for a car that fetches less than $300,000 in tip-top shape and, although this example was featured in a popular TV show, I have my doubts the seller will manage to sell it for $1.75 million.

Either way, we'll be back to report on the outcome so make sure you keep it locked here at TopSpeed.

Click past the jump to read more about the Ferrari Testarossa.

Why it matters

The Miami Vice Testarossa is arguably the most recognizable Testarossa ever built. Heck, it's more valuable than the examples previously owned by Elton John and Alain Delon, which speaks volumes of Miami Vice's popularity back in the day. Not to mention this is a Ferrari, and classic Ferraris are known to gain a lot of value as they age. Sure, a 1980s Testarossa will never be as valuable as a 250 GTO, which are known to sell for more than $50 million, but this Miami Vice hero car is likely to become the most expensive Testarossa in history.

Ferrari Testarossa

The Ferrari Testarossa was launched in 1984 as a successor to the BB 512i. The supercar should not to be confused with the 250 Testa Rossa, which is a race car built between 1957 and 1958 and raced until the early 1960s.

The mid-engined supercar was powered by a Colombo flat-12 mill that cranked out 390 horsepower and 361 pound-feet of torque in European specification, while U.S. models were detuned to 380 ponies. A brand-new Testarossa needed 5.2 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph and 11.4 seconds to hit 100 mph. Top speed stood at 180 mph.

Production lasted until 1996, with two visual and drivetrain updates introduced in 1991 and 1994. Dubbed 512 TR from 1991 until 1994, the Testarossa has its output increased to 428 horsepower and 362 pound-feet. The final upgrade, known as the F512 M, took the engine's power to 440 ponies and 370 pound-feet of twist.

In all, Ferrari built 9,939 Testarossas in 13 years. The two-door berlinetta was replaced by the 550 Maranello in 1996.