Gerhard Berger's £350,000 Ferrari stolen in 1995 recovered by police 28 years later
4 March 2024, 10:30 | Updated: 4 March 2024, 10:34
A £350,000 Ferrari belonging to F1 driver Gerhard Berger has been recovered by police 28 years after it was stolen.
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The red F512M Testarossa was one of two of the sports cars stolen from Berger and fellow driver Jean Alesi at the San Marino Grand Prix in Imola in 1995.
In dramatic fashion nearly 30 years ago, Berger reportedly caught a crook during the theft and gave chase in his friend’s Volkswagen Golf but they were unable to recover it.
Police said at the time they believed the cars had been stolen to order.
After nearly three decades, one of the cars has now been recovered.
The Met Police said they had received a report from Ferrari after checks were carried out on a car being bought by a US buyer through a British broker last year.
Officers from the Organised Vehicle Crime Unit discovered the car had been shipped to Japan shortly after the 1995 theft and then was brought back to the UK late last year.
It was seized to prevent it from being exported from the UK. No arrests have been made.
Jean Alesi’s car remains missing.
PC Mike Pilbeam, who led the investigation, said: “The stolen Ferrari – close to the value of £350,000 – 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.”
Only 501 F512 M cars were made between 1992 and 1996. The car has a top speed of 195 mph. Other well-known owners include Sir Elton John, Alain Delon and Michael Jordan.
