Monospecchio (pronounced mon-oh-spec-kjo)
The
Italian for “one mirror”, a descriptor applied to the early production (1984-1987)
Ferrari Testarossas (1984-1991).
1984: The
construct was mono- + specchio. Mono was from the Ancient Greek, a combining
form of μόνος (monos) (alone, only,
sole, single), from the Proto-Hellenic mónwos,
from the primitive Indo-European mey-
(small). It was related to the Armenian մանր
(manr) (slender, small), the Ancient
Greek μανός (manós) (sparse, rare), the
Middle Low German mone & möne, the West Frisian meun, the Dutch meun, the Old High German muniwa,
munuwa & munewa (from which German
gained Münne (minnow). As a prefix, mono- is often found in chemical
names to indicate a substance containing just one of a
specified atom or group (eg a monohydrate such as carbon monoxide; carbon
attached to a single atom of oxygen). The
Italian specchio (mirror, table,
chart) was from the Vulgar Latin speclum,
a syncopated form of the Classical Latin speculum, the construct being speciō + -culum. Speciō (observe,
watch, look at) was from the From Proto-Italic spekjō, from the primitive Indo-European spéḱyeti which was cognate with the Ancient Greek
σκέπτομαι (sképtomai), the Avestan (spasyeiti), and the Sanskrit पश्यति (páśyati). The suffix –culum was (with anaptyxis) from the Proto-Italic -klom, from the primitive Indo-European -tlom, from -trom. Despite
the resemblance, ōsculum and other
diminutive nouns do not contain this suffix which was used to form some nouns
derived from verbs, particularly nouns representing tools and instruments.
The type F110 Ferrari Testarossa
(1984-1991) was one of a number of models between 1973-1996 to use a flat-12
which pedants insist is actually a 180o V12 because of a
definitional distinction related to the attachment and movement of internal components; the
external shape is essentially identical. The Testarossa name (testra rossa literally “red head” in Italian) was a revival of one the factory
had last used for the 1957 250 Testa Rossa which had won that year’s World
Sportscar Championship, the first having been the 1954 500 TR. The visual link to the name was the red paint
applied to the engines’ camshaft covers.
The factory was in general a bit loose with the nomenclature on which purists like to insist. The first of the road-going flat-12 Ferraris was the 365 GT4 BB (1973-1984), the “BB” long thought to stand for Berlinetta Boxer but Road & Track in 2018 noted RoadRat's publication of an interview with the BB’s designer, Leonardo Fioravanti (b 1938) who admitted it was named after the actress Brigitte Bardot (b 1934), simply because the staff in Ferrari's design office were as besotted with Mademoiselle Bardot as engineers everywhere; "Berlinetta Boxer" was just a cover story. There’s an undeniable similarity in the lines of the two and on the factory website, Ferrari later confirmed the story.
The Italian berlinetta translates as “little saloon” and is the diminutive of berlina (sedan) and the 365 GT4 BB in no way resembled a saloon, small or large, Ferrari using the word to describe a two-seat car with a closed cockpit (convertibles are Spiders), referred to by most as a coupé. Nor was the Ferrari’s flat-12 technically a boxer, the boxer configuration one where each pair of opposed pistons move inwards and outwards in unison, the imagery being that of a pugilist, ritualistically thumping together their gloves prior to a bout. The Ferrari unit instead used the same arrangement as a conventional V12, each pair of pistons sharing a crankpin whereas as true boxer has a separate crankpin for each piston. This is one practical reason why boxer engines tend not to have many cylinders, the need for additional crankpins adding to weight & length. Thus the earlier flat-16s, the Coventry Climax FWMW (1963-1965) intended for Formula One and the unit Porsche developed in 1971 for the Can-Am and tested in chassis 917-027 weren't boxers although bulk was anyway a factor in both proving abortive, Porsche instead turbo-charging their flat-12 and Coventry Climax giving up entirely, the FWMW having never left the test-bench. Despite it all, just about everybody calls the 365 GT4 BB “the Boxer” and its engine a “flat-12”, the factory clearly unconcerned and while cheerfully acknowledging the technical differences, their documents refer to it variously as a “boxer”, a “180o v12”, a “flat-12” & a “boxer-type” engine.
1986 Ferrari Testarossa in monospecchio trim.
The early-production Testarossas were fitted with a single high-mounted external mirror, on the left or right depending on the market into which it was sold and although the preferred term was the Italian “monospecchio” (one mirror), in the English speaking-world it was quickly dubbed the “flying mirror" (rendered sometimes in Italian as “specchio volante” (a ordinary wing mirror being a “specchietto laterale esterno”, proving everything sounds better in Italian)). The unusual placement and blatant asymmetry annoyed some and delighted others, the unhappy more disgruntled still if they noticed the vent on right of the front spoiler not being matched by one to the left. It was there to feed the air-conditioning’s radiator and while such offset singularities are not unusual in cars, many manufacturers create a matching fake as an aesthetic device: Ferrari did not. The mirror’s curious placement was an unintended consequence of a European regulation regarding the devices and this was interpreted by the designers as having to provide 100% rearward visibility. Because of the sheer size of the rear bodywork necessitated by the twin radiators which sat behind the side-strakes (another distinctive Testarossa feature), the elevation was the only way but it later transpired the interpretation of the law was wrong, a perhaps forgivable mistake given the turgidity of much legislation.
That
alone may have been enough to convince the factory to change to a more
conventional location but there had also been complaints, notably from the US,
that the monospecchio restricted the vision
of oncoming traffic and many missed having a passenger-side mirror, remarking
too on the difficulties found when trying rapidly to adapt to the placement, few owners using a Testarossa
as their only car. Thus was taken the
decision to phase in the fitting of dual mirrors, mounted in a conventional
position at the base of the A pillars. Shown
at the 1986 Geneva Motor Show, the first examples of the new arrangement were
those built for European sale, those bound for the US revised initially in 1987
with a single, low-mounted, driver-side mirror before later gaining the same dual
arrangement as those sold in Europe.
Being Ferraris with a certain cachet, the monospecchio cars attract additional interest and inevitably there is fakery and folklore. There exists the odd early Testarossa with either double-high or double-low mirrors but Ferrari insists these are modifications installed either by dealers or owners and there was at a time, a lot of it about. It wasn’t a simple job, requiring one or two mirrors, window frames and support assemblies and thus always cost somewhere in four figures but, like those who once converted their now precious 1963 split-window Chevrolet Corvettes to 1964’s single piece of glass lest they be thought driving last year’s model, there were those who didn’t wish to look outdated. Also, the Testarossa was, by Ferrari’s standards at the time, almost mass-produced with over seven-thousand sold and, in the aftermath of the severe recession of the early 1990s, a glut emerged which for years depressed prices; originality not then the fetish it would later become, modifications to mirrors and other bits & pieces not uncommon. Still, the factory was known to accommodate special requests from good customers so if a duospecchio with high mounts does show up, accompanied with the vital proof of authenticity, it would add a notch of desirability. Market support for Ferrari’s flat-12 ecosystem (Boxer, Testarossa & 512 TR) is now healthy and, while not matching the buoyancy of the pre-1973 cars, operates well into US$ six figures, the quirk of the monospecchio cars making them much fancied.
Monospecchio: Lindsay Lohan selfies, one mirror at a time.
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