A Ferrari F512M stolen from Gerhard Berger nearly 30 years ago has been found by UK police following a tip-off from Ferrari. Quick, someone make a Fezzas and rozzers gag!
The ultra-rare F512M was one of two Ferraris belonging to F1 drivers that were stolen during the 1995 San Marino GP in Italy. Missing for nearly three decades, Berger's Testarossa—one of just 501 built by Ferrari back in the mid-Nineties—has now resurfaced.
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Back in January, Ferrari reached out to officers at the Met’s Organised Vehicle Crime Unit following checks it had made on a car being bought by a US buyer via a UK broker. During the inspection, Ferrari discovered it was, in fact, Berger's stolen 12-pot Testarossa and raised the alarm.
UK detectives quickly made 'extensive' enquiries and pieced together the missing Ferrari's backstory: it had been shipped straight to Japan following the theft, and was brought to the UK late last year. Once recovered, it was quickly moved into police hands to stop it being exported out of the country again.
PC Mike Pilbeam, leading the investigation, said: “The stolen Ferrari—close to the value of £350,000 (P25 million)—was missing for more than 28 years before we managed to track it down in just four days.
“Our enquiries were painstaking and included contacting authorities from around the world. We worked quickly with partners including the National Crime Agency, as well as Ferrari and international car dealerships, and this collaboration was instrumental in understanding the vehicle’s background and stopping it from leaving the country.”
The Met hasn’t confirmed if and when the car is going back to its original owner, and Berger has yet to comment on the findings. The other stolen Ferrari also remains at large. As it were.
Guess that’s what they mean when they say do your due diligence when buying a used car.
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
