The 6-wheel Ferrari Testarossa project turns into a settling of scores between France and the USA

For months, it had disappeared from the radar. The six-wheeled Ferrari Testarossa, a creation as fascinating as it was heretical, seemed frozen in a form of automotive purgatory. No new photos, no official announcements, no hint of progress. Until the affair suddenly resurfaced, not with images of the construction site, but with public accusations, settling of scores... and a project now described as "destroyed".

A mechanical fantasy worthy of Mad Max

When the Testarossa 6×6 appeared for the first timeThere was something unreal about her. A Ferrari elongated, widened, with four-wheel drive at the rear, powered by a supercharged 1,200 hp American V8. More than a tuning project, it was a post-apocalyptic movie weapon, straight out of Mad Max or Cyberpunk 2077. Behind this crazy idea was Alexandre Danton, a Frenchman who travels back and forth between France and the USA, and his workshop Danton arts kustoms, which specializes in this kind of transformation. After a V8 Hellcat-powered Hummer 6×6 sold in the USA, the man seemed ready to take things to the next level: tackling one of history's most iconic Ferraris.

A Ferrari, a record sale, and a promise

Before the Testarossa, there had already been a precedent. The six-wheeled Hummer developed by Danton and an American partner sold for $750,000 at auction. A price high enough to seal an agreement in principle with Gas Monkey Garage: if the first creation met with success, the next would be financed by the Americans. The Testarossa became the showcase project. A Ferrari in the hands of an outsider tuner, financed by a television empire. Or so it seemed.

Then nothing. The project seemed swallowed up. For months, there were no official updates, no events, no trade shows to showcase the car. Until a photo posted on Instagram rekindled everything... before the situation exploded. In the comments, Alexandre Danton unleashes his first accusations. The words are violent and straightforward. He claims to have made the car himself, and accuses Gas Monkey of appropriating the project, not paying him properly, and using its financial power to force him into silence via contracts. He speaks of stolen work, cancelled recognition and implicit legal threats.

Two versions, and a lot of bitterness

Richard Rawlings of Gas Monkey Garage responds to these attacks. For his part, he explains that the car delivered was far from presentable. Rough adjustments, unfinished paintwork, multiple manufacturing defects: according to him, almost everything had to be reworked. The project would have required months of rework, dismantling and corrections to reach an acceptable level. Even after all this work, the car would still be only "moderately correct".

On the financial front, the gulf seems just as wide. Richard Rawlings claims that relations have also deteriorated around money and deadlines. According to Rawlings, the collaboration was governed by a precise contract, with late payment penalties of $500 per day when deadlines were not met, which would amount to some $14,000 to $15,000 in cumulative penalties. Rawlings assures us that he paid exactly what was contractually agreed, including a lump-sum compensation despite the delays, while recalling that Gas Monkey Garage assumed the entire financing of the project. He also estimates that bringing the car up to standard would require less than $50,000 in additional work, mainly to redo certain major aesthetic and mechanical parts. Finally, he speaks openly of the commercial stakes: in its current state, the Ferrari could be worth as little as $400,000 at auction, as opposed to the million-plus he had hoped for if it had been completed in accordance with the original project.

Asked about the current status of the project, Alexandre Danton answers with a single word: "destroyed". What was supposed to be an incredible project turns into an online settling of scores. Two egos, two stories. The Testarossa 6×6 will henceforth be known less for its six wheels than for its six months of public score-settling.