A Ferrari Mondial has been lying at the bottom of a canal for 26 years. Divers discover the destroyed vehicle. Now an unusual future awaits.
- Brazen car thieves made the Ferrari * Mondial disappear.
- Employees of a car recycling company want to restore parts of the sports car.
- Will the Ferrari model become an exhibit?
The divers of the Amsterdam fire brigade were amazed at their chance find. Actually, they just wanted to do a routine exercise in one of the great waterways of the Dutch metropolis. But in the depths of the muddy canal they came across a muddy car . The explanation of how the vehicle got there is adventurous - only the police called in were able to solve the case.
Ferrari Mondial underwater for an adventurous reason
The 1987 Ferrari Mondial 3.2 model was stolen according to the Autoclassics.com portal . The car had been reported stolen since 1994 . The booty got too hot for the car thieves at some point - and so they unceremoniously sunk the car in one of the capital's canals. The Dutch law enforcement officers could no longer find traces of the culprits after all these years. The water-related damage to the Ferrari was too great. As Auto Motor und Sport writes, however, the police specialists found out that the interior of the vehicle was not the scene of a violent crime .
After completing their investigations, they handed the badly damaged sports car over to the insurance company, which had paid for the damage in the mid-1990s. In the meantime, the insurance company has passed the Ferrari Mondial, which had been destroyed by the water, to the car scraper De Ooyevaar Autodemontage .
Even crazier: Ferrari: Sensational find - for 17 years it was left on the street, unraveled
What will happen to the Ferrari?
What happens to the car now is unclear. But the options are limited. Because the Ferrari Mondial comes from a criminal offense, De Ooyevaar Autodemontage is not allowed to sell it completely under Dutch law . Only individual parts of the wrecked car are allowed to be sold. So the vehicle is probably being cannibalized. Due to the enormous media coverage , many souvenir collectors have already expressed their interest.
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For the time being, however, the recycling company has decided to present the formerly brisk runabout to the public on its premises. Should a museum be interested in the Ferrari, it could even become an exhibit in one piece . That is not excluded - because a state exemption would be possible. However, the enthusiastic employees of De Ooyevaar Autodemontage definitely want to restore the mud and rust encrusted engine of the battered Italian noble body. With a chic glass plate on top , it should become a luxury table .
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Will the sports car turn into a spectacular eye-catcher again?
This is where Ferrari lover and YouTuber Ratarossa - aka Scott Chivers - comes in. He has already whipped up quite a few Ferrari models - and a passion for automobiles that fate did not hold back. In this particular case, he too admits that the Mondial has been too bothered to get it back on the road. However , he wants to keep it from the scrap press .
Ratarossa's plan: to help in some way to turn the demolished Ferrari into a renowned art installation . There is currently an aquarium that shows interest in possibly bringing the sports car back under water. The operators are toying with the idea of placing the car in a pool with sharks - and thus creating a spectacular sight . Scott Chivers is happy to receive further suggestions. (cs) * tz.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editorial network.
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