A Ferrari stolen from Gerhard Berger in Italy in 1995 has been recovered after a four-day investigation led by the Met.

In April 1995, the San Marino Grand Prix was held in Imola, Italy. While in the city for the race, two Formula One drivers had their Ferraris stolen. One of these was a red Ferrari F512M and despite being reported missing, the cars were never found until the Met started an investigation.

In January this year, the Met received a report from Ferrari, who had carried out checks on a car being bought by a US buyer via a UK broker in 2023, which revealed it was a stolen vehicle.

Officers from the Organised Vehicle Crime Unit carried out extensive enquiries across the world which revealed the car’s background, including that it had been shipped to Japan shortly after being stolen until it was brought to the UK in late 2023.

Establishing the history of the vehicle in just four days, Gerhard Berger’s Ferrari was tracked down and was moved to the Met’s possession to prevent the car from being exported from the UK.

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.”

Enquiries remain ongoing and no arrests have been made. The second car remains missing.

The Met’s Organised Vehicle Crime Unit is a small team of experienced vehicle examiners, police officers and staff with a wealth of knowledge. In 2023, the unit recovered 418 vehicles, with a combined value of £31m. Of these, 326 have been linked to organised criminal gangs, making up £21m of the total value of vehicles seized.

Text & Image: Met Police