New footage from the set of the upcoming film Miami Vice '85 shows Austin Butler as Sonny Crockett and Michael B. Jordan as Ricardo Tubbs driving a white Ferrari Testarossa. This choice deviates from the period of the original TV series, and the reason is likely legal.
In the early seasons of the 1980s Miami Vice series, Don Johnson's Sonny Crockett drove a black 1972 Ferrari Daytona Spyder convertible. This iconic car was later destroyed in the show's canon. Following this, Crockett was supplied with a white 1986 Ferrari Testarossa by the Miami-Dade Police Department, which provided such vehicles as seized assets for his undercover persona.
The Daytona Spyder featured in the original series was actually a replica built on a Corvette C3 chassis. Ferrari North America had initially refused to provide the show with an authentic model and subsequently initiated legal action against the show and the replica manufacturer, McBurnie Coachcraft, for trademark infringement and brand dilution. The dispute was settled, granting Ferrari legal protections for its trademarks and vehicle designs.
As part of the settlement, Ferrari donated two authentic Testarossas to the production with the stipulation that the replica Daytona be destroyed on-screen. It appears that Universal, the studio behind Miami Vice '85, is opting to avoid similar legal entanglements by using the Testarossa, despite it not aligning with the specific period being retold in the film.
Miami Vice '85 has been filming in New York and New Jersey and is scheduled to relocate production to Miami after hurricane season concludes. The film is set to be released in theaters, including IMAX, on May 19, 2028.