Stolen Ferrari found after 28 years

[ingenieur]

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/other/formula-one-...

My question is what will happen to it now? Does it go back to the original owner? There must be many hundreds of thousands invested in this vehicle so someone is going to lose their shirt big time!

[M11rph]

The insurance company who paid out the original claim will be the owners.

The current "owner" will get nothing.

[RazerSauber]

Assuming the insurance paid out on it, it'll go to them. They might contact Gerhard and ask him if he wants to buy it back from them but I imagine he's had impressive machine after impressive machine and won't think much of it.

[Scrump]

I would assume that it gets returned to the original owner unless they had an insurance pay out in which case it belongs to the insurance company.

[ingenieur]

It was detected at the point where a dealer here was about to sell it to a customer in the US. So I wonder whether that guy could still buy it and pay the insurance co rather than the dealer?

I wouldn't be surprised if the dealer here has no idea about the history and is about to lose a packet.

My understanding of insurance for cars of this sort of value was that they were not insured in the conventional sense but had some sort of indemnity bond or something like that? Probably talking utter nonsense but does it work the same as normal?

[Jim H]

I remember reading about this at the time, in other on-line reports there is mention of a second Ferrari stolen that weekend.

IIRC it was Alesi ‘s 355.

What a lucky lad Gerhard was back then, ragging around the tracks in what I consider one of the best sounding and looking F1 cars - the 412T2.

And he had a cracking road car to boot!

[SpudLink]

Jim H said:

I remember reading about this at the time, in other on-line reports there is mention of a second Ferrari stolen that weekend.

IIRC it was Alesi ‘s 355.

What a lucky lad Gerhard was back then, ragging around the tracks in what I consider one of the best sounding and looking F1 cars - the 412T2.

And he had a cracking road car to boot!

I seem to remember reading that Berger left the keys in the ignition while he popped into a hotel.

[rpguk]

Article says he chased after him in a golf, would have loved to have seen that!

[ingenieur]

SpudLink said:

Jim H said:

I remember reading about this at the time, in other on-line reports there is mention of a second Ferrari stolen that weekend.

IIRC it was Alesi ‘s 355.

What a lucky lad Gerhard was back then, ragging around the tracks in what I consider one of the best sounding and looking F1 cars - the 412T2.

And he had a cracking road car to boot!

I seem to remember reading that Berger left the keys in the ignition while he popped into a hotel.

The article says: "Italian police believed the cars were likely to have been stolen to order"

So seems unlikely it was opportunistic although we do have a BBC inspired view of Mediterranean police investigations as lackadaisical and bungling so who really knows.

[ambuletz]

it made its way all the way to japan, how does something like that not get spotted?

[ingenieur]

ambuletz said:

it made its way all the way to japan, how does something like that not get spotted?

I suspect 25 years ago shipping would be more of a paper-based exercise so you would have written XYZ on the paperwork instead of ABC. Gets to Japan and nobody knows anything of the previous history and has no way of finding out.

[Mr Pointy]

ingenieur said:

ambuletz said:

it made its way all the way to japan, how does something like that not get spotted?

I suspect 25 years ago shipping would be more of a paper-based exercise so you would have written XYZ on the paperwork instead of ABC. Gets to Japan and nobody knows anything of the previous history and has no way of finding out.

I'd suggest that even 25 years ago a VIN check with Ferrari would have taken minutes.

[SpudLink]

ingenieur said:

SpudLink said:

Jim H said:

I remember reading about this at the time, in other on-line reports there is mention of a second Ferrari stolen that weekend.

IIRC it was Alesi ‘s 355.

What a lucky lad Gerhard was back then, ragging around the tracks in what I consider one of the best sounding and looking F1 cars - the 412T2.

And he had a cracking road car to boot!

I seem to remember reading that Berger left the keys in the ignition while he popped into a hotel.

The article says: "Italian police believed the cars were likely to have been stolen to order"

So seems unlikely it was opportunistic although we do have a BBC inspired view of Mediterranean police investigations as lackadaisical and bungling so who really knows.

That does make my recollection seem unlikely.

[Jim H]

I’m stretching my memory back here folks, after all it is 28 years ago!

I was a huge fan of Gerhard and Ferrari at the time. My source of info was Autosport which I used to pour over every week. It was a sub-story that ran along the full GP report something like ‘Works Ferrari’s go AWOL at San Marino’.

I think Gerhard and Jean were staying at the same hotel, and the keys to the cars were left with the Valet. I seem to remember Gerhard originally thought it was the Valet moving the car out for him, then soon realised it wasn’t when the driver floored it passed him! It was then he realised he had the keys for the car in his pocket.

I think the cars were part of the drivers contract (not uncommon). At the time, and historically Ferrari never had a de facto number one driver - except the Schumacher years?

However, Gerhard had 512 TR and Jean a 355, make of that what you will?!

Edited by Jim H on Monday 4th March 15:38

[Wills2]

ambuletz said:

it made its way all the way to japan, how does something like that not get spotted?

100's billions £ worth of illicit goods gets shipped around the world without being spotted, it's a big place.

[ingenieur]

Mr Pointy said:

ingenieur said:

ambuletz said:

it made its way all the way to japan, how does something like that not get spotted?

I suspect 25 years ago shipping would be more of a paper-based exercise so you would have written XYZ on the paperwork instead of ABC. Gets to Japan and nobody knows anything of the previous history and has no way of finding out.

I'd suggest that even 25 years ago a VIN check with Ferrari would have taken minutes.

I suppose yes, on the VIN check. But I've never tried to confirm the VIN of my car with the manufacturer and I've probably had 100 of them. It's the surrounding circumstances which we don't know about. Maybe it was in Japan but just sitting in a warehouse?

[Petrus1983]

I've just been told this story down at the local - I was going to post it but obviously this thread is already here. What a fascinating story, and probably won't be easy to unravel. Thankfully the Met police have the unlimited funds to properly investigate.

[Mr Pointy]

ingenieur said:

Mr Pointy said:

ingenieur said:

ambuletz said:

it made its way all the way to japan, how does something like that not get spotted?

I suspect 25 years ago shipping would be more of a paper-based exercise so you would have written XYZ on the paperwork instead of ABC. Gets to Japan and nobody knows anything of the previous history and has no way of finding out.

I'd suggest that even 25 years ago a VIN check with Ferrari would have taken minutes.

I suppose yes, on the VIN check. But I've never tried to confirm the VIN of my car with the manufacturer and I've probably had 100 of them. It's the surrounding circumstances which we don't know about. Maybe it was in Japan but just sitting in a warehouse?

Well yes, but I doubt either of us have bought rare imported Ferraris. The only reason for not checking the provenance of a car like this is because you don't want to know the answer.

[Milkyway]

Quite a few years ago I was told the story of a guy unknowingly buying a stolen / ringed Ferrari. He was entitled to keep the windscreen & a wing mirror that he had replaced... good job that he kept the receipts,