Why Austin Butler's Crockett Is Driving the Wrong Ferrari in Miami Vice '85

Fresh footage from the Brooklyn streets doubling as sun-baked Miami has confirmed something attentive fans of the original series were quick to notice: [Austin Butler's](article/austin-butler-steps-into-crockett-s-shoes-in-first-miami-vice-85-set-photos) Sonny Crockett is not driving the car most people associate with the character. Instead of the sleek black Ferrari Daytona Spyder that defined Don Johnson's detective in the first two seasons of the landmark 1980s television series, Butler and co-star Michael B. Jordan — playing Ricardo Tubbs — are seen cruising in a white Ferrari Testarossa. The discrepancy is not an oversight. It is, in all likelihood, the product of a legal entanglement that stretches back to the original production itself.

The Daytona That Was Never Really a Daytona

To understand the current situation, it helps to revisit what the original Miami Vice actually put on screen. The black Ferrari Daytona Spyder that became as synonymous with Crockett as his pastel blazers was, in fact, a replica — a convincing facsimile constructed by coachbuilder McBurnie Coachcraft on a Chevrolet Corvette C3 chassis. Ferrari North America had declined to supply an authentic vehicle for the show, and the production moved forward without their blessing.

Ferrari's legal team eventually moved against both the series and McBurnie, arguing trademark infringement and brand dilution on the grounds that the replica misrepresented their marque. According to IGN, the eventual settlement was sweeping: Ferrari secured broad legal protections covering not only their trademarks but the very shape and silhouette of their cars. The terms of that resolution also carried a dramatic, made-for-television condition — the fake Daytona had to be destroyed on screen. It was, spectacularly, in the Season 3 premiere, obliterated by a Stinger missile in a scene that remains one of the more memorable bits of product-related pyrotechnics in television history. As compensation of a kind, Ferrari donated two authentic Testarossas to the production, their new flagship model at the time, which is how the white car entered Crockett's world in the third season.

Canon Versus Convenience

Director Joseph Kosinski's Miami Vice '85 is, as its title signals, a story set squarely in the period when Crockett was still driving the Daytona. The film is not a continuation but a reimagining of those early seasons — which makes the Testarossa's appearance a canonical anomaly. The white car belongs to 1986 and beyond in the show's internal timeline, not the 1985 setting the film has staked its identity on.

The most plausible explanation is that Universal Pictures has simply elected to sidestep any replay of the legal friction that plagued the original series. Licensing and trademark disputes involving luxury automotive brands are notoriously complex, and the settlement Ferrari secured decades ago gave them formidable legal footing over how their vehicles — and anything resembling them — may be depicted. Reaching for the Testarossa, a car already integrated into the show's official canon with Ferrari's own imprimatur, is a pragmatic solution even if it costs the production a measure of period authenticity.

Production Progress and What Comes Next

The film has been shooting across New York and New Jersey, though the production is expected to move to Miami proper once hurricane season subsides — a geographical necessity for a story so inseparable from its South Florida setting. [Butler has been investing considerably in the physical demands of the role](article/austin-butler-is-bulking-up-hard-for-his-miami-vice-85-role), and [his preparation has been a sustained, visible effort](article/austin-butler-s-miami-vice-85-prep-keeps-him-a-fixture-at-the-gym) since the project was announced. He has also spoken candidly about [the aesthetic dimensions of inhabiting Crockett, from wardrobe to the broader cultural atmosphere of the era](article/austin-butler-90s-style-breitling-miami-vice).

For audiences, the white Testarossa may ultimately register as a minor concession — a recognizable piece of Miami Vice iconography, even if it arrives one season early in the fictional timeline. Miami Vice '85 is scheduled to open in theaters, including IMAX, on May 19, 2028.

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