The 1980s makes for one of the top destinations of the ever-increasing number of people hoping aboard the wayback machine these days. And, as far as automotive things go, the excess of that era was perfectly summarized in a little TV series dubbed Miami Vice. But what if the mean streets of Florida were to be replaced with the just as vicious asphalt of Italy? Welcome to Italian Vice, a short that features ex-Lamborghini chief test driver Valentino Balboni.
The production involves the trinity of 80s Euro supercars, namely the Ferrari Testarossa, the Lamborghini Countach, and the Porsche 911 Turbo.
As with the original series that cast Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas in the roles of two detectives, there’s plenty of undercover police action here, flying dollar bills, and the expected amount of shooting.
Naturally, car chases take up a lot of the fan film’s five minutes and fifteen seconds—after all, with no dialogue, what better way to keep the audience engaged if not by throwing the said motorized icons onto the screen?
Oh, and did we mention the pair of period-correct Suzuki GSX-R superbikes? These 1,100cc monsters rival the said four-wheeled creations for our attention.
And while keeping track of the character’s intentions at all times may be more or less facile, seeing a Testarossa pulling a burnour in reverse is the kind of thing that will stick with us.
That and witnessing Balboni, now in his 70s, spinning that Countach as his aims to extend the long arm of the law (this was obviously one of the models he helped develop over the four decades he spent in the service of Sant’Agata Bolognese).
On that topic, here’s what Simon Kidston, the producer of the video, who runs an eponymous company in the classic car field, mentions on Instagram: “For the full 1980s effect we had to rent a smoke machine and drive ahead of them in a van with the rear doors open! […]Valentino Balboni says it’s the first time he’s seen a police siren put on the roof of a Countach at motorway speed,“
And while the video is now on YouTube (this awaits you at the bottom of the story), you can also find a few behind-the-scenes images in the gallery below.
