Stolen 1981 Ferrari Recovered After 29 Years

Thieves suck. That’s a pretty universal sentiment, especially among those of us in the automotive community. It seems more often than not, if a car is stolen, it’s never seen again. While services like OnStar have certainly helped in recovering some vehicles if the theft is noticed quickly, if the thieves have even a small head start, those systems can be circumvented and the ride dismantled in a chop shop in a matter of just a few hours.

In the world of luxury cars and high end rides, though, cars aren’t always stolen to be chopped up. A perfect example of this, a gorgeous 1981 Ferrari 308 GTSI that was stolen from a consignment lot all the way back in 1987. The insurance company paid the owner and the car was all but forgotten, at least until it showed up at the Port of Long Beach to be exported to a buyer in Poland. There, NICB Special Agent Lout Koven recognized that the VIN looked suspicious, so he ran it and found that it had indeed been replaced.

A few phone calls later and the car’s true identity had been found as the one that was stolen all those years ago. The car had been relocated around the country several times and just might have escaped for good if not for the watchful eye of Koven. The owner should have the option to buy the car back from the insurance company, and if he’s not interested, somebody will have the chance to buy it at auction when the car goes up for sale to offset the cost of the claim that was paid to the owner back in 1987. If it sells for the amount they settled for, a reasonable $37,000 some thirty years ago, they could be into the car for well under the current market value, estimated between $50,000 and $90,000.