Silent Testa - Automotive culture has always thrived on reinvention, especially when technology challenges long-held traditions. As electric powertrains continue to reshape the industry, even the most iconic machines are being pulled into a new conversation about relevance, creativity, and the future of customization. It is within this shifting landscape that
The Gas Monkey Testa emerges—not as a quiet experiment, but as a deliberate provocation that asks what happens when classic Italian design meets modern electric ambition.
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| The Gas Monkey Testa emerges—not as a quiet experiment, but as a deliberate provocation that asks what happens when classic Italian design meets modern electric ambition. (Picture from: MotorUtopia) |
At its core,
the Gas Monkey Testa began life as
a 1989 Ferrari Testarossa,
one of five cars originally used in the film Infinite. Rather than preserving it in original form,
Gas Monkey Garage selected the most damaged example of the group and chose transformation over restoration.
The result is a radical electric reinterpretation that abandons nostalgia-driven purity in favor of bold experimentation.
The project was developed in collaboration with Legacy EV, underscoring that this was not a casual swap, but a carefully engineered conversion built to function as a complete vehicle, not a novelty.
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| The Gas Monkey Testa represents a radical electric reinterpretation developed with Legacy EV, engineered as a fully functional vehicle rather than a nostalgic showpiece. (Picture from: MotorUtopia) |
Visually,
the Testa distances itself from
the traditional Testarossa silhouette while still carrying its DNA.
The car is reimagined as a roofless roadster with custom exterior trim,
stripping away weight and formality in the process.
Inside,
the design takes an even more unconventional turn with a three-seat layout,
placing the driver in a central position flanked by two passenger seats.
This center-steering configuration instantly signals that the Testa is meant to challenge expectations,
blending supercar theatrics with a layout more often associated with experimental hypercars than 1980s grand tourers.
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| The Gas Monkey Testa adopts a three-seat interior with a centrally positioned driver flanked by two passenger seats. (Picture from: MotorUtopia) |
Beneath its reworked skin,
the Testa is powered entirely by electricity,
marking a decisive break from Ferrari’s flat-12 heritage.
A Cascadia Motion iDM-190 integrated motor and transmission module delivers 225 kW,
roughly equivalent to 300 horsepower,
alongside 500 Nm of torque.
Energy is stored in an 84.6 kWh battery pack built from 36 Kore Power modules, providing the foundation for modern EV performance.
Combined with an overall weight reduction of about 400 pounds compared to the original car, the electric setup reinforces the project’s focus on agility and efficiency rather than brute-force nostalgia.
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| The Gas Monkey Testa runs on a fully electric powertrain, using a Cascadia Motion iDM-190 unit delivering 225 kW and 500 Nm of torque, supported by an 84.6 kWh battery built from 36 Kore Power modules. (Picture from: MotorUtopia) |
Unsurprisingly, the Testa has stirred controversy. For many Ferrari purists, altering a Testarossa—especially turning it into an EV—crosses an emotional line. That tension is precisely what Gas Monkey Garage intended to ignite. While Ferrari itself is famously protective of its brand image, the Testa exists as a conceptual statement rather than a production challenge, highlighting the broader debate around ownership, modification, and the future of classic cars in an electrified era. It raises uncomfortable but necessary questions about whether heritage should be frozen in time or allowed to evolve.
The Gas Monkey Testa made its public debut at SEMA 2023,
presented as a futuristic concept rather than a finished endpoint.
According to Richard Rawlings,
the philosophy behind the build reflects a new definition of hot rodding—
one where software,
battery management,
and electric motors replace carburetors and camshafts. With talk of a more advanced version potentially incorporating Tesla components in the future,
the Testa stands as a snapshot of a transitional moment in car culture, where reverence for the past collides head-on with the realities of a rapidly electrifying present.
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