The F512M, of which only 501 were made, is worth nearly £350,000 (Picture: PA)
A rare Ferrari stolen from a Formula 1 driver in Italy nearly three decades ago has been found in the UK.
The red F512M vanished in 1995 in the city of Imola, where Austrian former driver Gerhard Berger was competing in that year’s San Marino Grand Prix.
It was reported missing, along with a second sports car owned by another F1 star, but no trace of either car was found.
The F512M, a version of the Testarossa of which only 501 were ever made, originally retailed for around £175,000 and is now worth nearly £350,000.
An investigation was triggered when an American tried to buy the stolen car using a British broker last year.
Ferrari carried out checks on the vehicle which suggested it was stolen and notified the Metropolitan Police in January.
Detectives discovered the car was shipped to Japan shortly after it was stolen and remained there until it was brought to the UK in late 2023.
The car belonged to Gerhard Berger, a star of the 1990s F1 scene (Picture: EPA)
The rare Italian sports car ended up in Japan before a buyer tried to ship it via the UK
The vehicle is being held by the Met to stop it being exported from the UK while enquiries continue.
No arrests have been made and the second car is still missing.
PC Mike Pilbeam of the Met’s Organised Vehicle Crime Unit 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.’
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