The stolen car. (Photo: Customs and Border Protection)
On July 19, 1987, a Ferrari owner in Orange County, Calif., discovered their car had gone missing. This was a nice car—1981 Ferrari 308 GTSi, in red, naturally. They reported the car stolen and were compensated by their insurance company. That’s how these things go.
Except, in this case, the car turned up again, more than 28 years later.
Recently, someone decided to ship the car to Poland. They listed it under a false vehicle identification number, as a 1982 Ferrari. The false VIN tipped off Customs and Border Protection that something was off—it had already been used to ship a different car to Norway, back in 2005.
They brought in a Ferrari factory expert, who was able to identify the car. With the real VIN, CBP found the original theft report. The car is still worth about $50,000, CBP says. What happened to the car between 1987 and 2016 is still a mystery, though. It only has 45,000 miles on it, so it doesn’t seem like it’s been used much. Kind of a shame—if you’re going to steal a car, doesn’t it seem like a joyride is in order?
Bonus finds: Giant rat
Every day, we highlight one newly found object, curiosity or wonder. Discover something amazing? Tell us about it! Send your finds to sarah.laskow@atlasobscura.com.