As of: March 6, 2024, 4:53 a.m
By: Sebastian Oppenheimer
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This Ferrari F512M was stolen from Gerhard Berger in 1995 at the Imola Grand Prix.
Now the police have tracked down the car.
© Metropolitan Police
Stolen cars usually disappear never to be seen again.
Not so with Gerhard Berger's Ferrari F512M.
It has now surprisingly resurfaced after 29 years.
Countless car fans dream of a Ferrari super sports car.
Only a few can afford such a car - and not everyone who can afford one is able to confidently drive such a super sports car with several hundred horsepower.
Some time ago, a Ferrari 488 GTB customer's journey ended in a crash after just three kilometers and a mechanic spectacularly dismantled a Ferrari Enzo on a test drive.
One person who has certainly mastered such a projectile perfectly is Gerhard Berger (64): The Austrian drove in Formula 1 for various racing teams from 1984 to 1997.
Among other things, Berger was also under contract with Ferrari.
In 1995, one of his “company cars” was stolen.
Now the car has surprisingly reappeared.
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Gerhard Berger's Ferrari F512M: Police estimate the value to be around 410,000 euros
The Ferrari F512M (M stands for Modificata, the last version of the Testarossa) was stolen from Berger in 1995 at the Imola Grand Prix in Italy - as was the Ferrari of his then teammate Jean Alesi (59).
While the Frenchman's car has not resurfaced to date, the police in London have now tracked down Berger's F512M again.
According to officials, the Italian super sports car is worth around 350,000 British pounds (the equivalent of around 410,000 euros).
Even the brand's model cars can achieve extreme prices: a special 1:8 version of the Ferrari Purosangue costs just under 14,000 euros.
Ferrari stolen in Italy ended up in Japan shortly after it was stolen
The crucial tip came from Ferrari itself: The car maker stated that it had checked a car that had been purchased in 2023 by a US buyer through a British broker.
It turned out that the vehicle was stolen.
Police officers from the Organized Vehicle Crime Unit began extensive investigations into the Ferrari - it turned out that the car had been shipped to Japan shortly after it was stolen.
No one has been arrested in connection with the theft so far and the investigation is ongoing.
London police seized the Ferrari F512M to prevent the Italian sports car from being taken out of the country.
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Other times: This is what the Ferrari F512M looks like in the interior - it is the last version of the Testarossa.
© Metropolitan Police
Ferrari F512M: This is how much it cost new in 1995
The Ferrari Testarossa came onto the market in 1984 as the successor to the Ferrari 512 BB.
The super sports car became known, among other things, through the television series Miami Vice, in which Detective James “Sonny” Crockett (Don Johnson) drove a white model from season 3 onwards.
The revised version of the Testarossa appeared in 1991 as the Ferrari 512 TR - the final performance level was then the F512M from 1994.
In this version, the V12 produced 324 kW (440 hp) and a maximum torque of 500 Newton meters.
The rear-wheel-drive super sports car sprinted from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.6 seconds and reached a top speed of 315 km/h.
The new price in 1995 was around 330,000 German marks.