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Old 10-02-2003, 09:27 AM   #1
sportVeloce
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Default $729,000 Ferrari Stolen

For those that have not heard about this:


"$729,000 Ferrari Stolen During Test Drive

Sep 27, 2003 10:25 am US/Eastern
ARDMORE (AP) Where do you hide a $729,000 Ferrari during rush hour?

That's what police in the Philadelphia suburbs want to know, after a con man drove off with a red Ferrari F50 during a test drive.

The same man may have grabbed two lower-end Ferraris from dealerships in North Carolina and New York this year, police said.

The Ferrari F50 - which can hit 60 mph in less than 4 seconds and tops out at 203 mph - hasn't been seen since the Sept. 16 test drive at Algar Ferrari in Rosemont.

"One of these would attract attention anywhere, even in a crowd of Ferrari people," said Gerald Roush of suburban Atlanta, who publishes a Ferrari newsletter.

Police theorize it was hustled into a trailer and quickly shipped overseas for sale on the black market.

Ferrari made just 349 of the eye-popping Italian roadsters - described by one car-enthusiast Web site as "part Batmobile, part ballistic missile" - in 1995 to commemorate its 50th anniversary. It was designed to be a street version of a Formula One race car.

The thief, a nattily dressed man who claimed he had flown up from Atlanta and had a limo waiting at the nearby Acme, took the test drive without producing a license. The ID, he said, was in a wallet he had left with his secretary.

Claiming to be a wealthy businessman, he had called ahead about the car and produced someone else's proof of credit when he arrived, police said.

"He looked and acted rich. That's the type of clientele they get in there," said Lower Merion Det. Charles J. Craig, the lead investigator.

The car - No. 29 in the F50 series - had 4,700 miles on it and just one previous owner. The dealership had bought it within the past year, according to information from Roush, who tracks Ferrari sales, and the dealership owner, who did not want his name published.

The salesman first took the prospective buyer for a spin, then let him get behind the wheel. During the test drive, the man stopped in front of a gated Villanova neighborhood and asked the salesman if he would drive back to the dealership.

When the salesman got out, the thief sped off.

Police were summoned, but never spotted the vehicle. Detectives believe he had help.

"This took a lot of planning," Craig said.

Now they're looking for the con man, described as a middle-aged, 6-foot, slender white male with reddish-brown hair and glasses.

The description generally matches that of the supposed doctor who stole the other Ferraris.

According to Roush, who posted the information in his newsletter, a red, 1989 Ferrari 328 GTS was stolen from a friend's dealership in Greensboro, N.C., on April 26. The theft occurred when a man who had been in several times asked to drive the car around the block by himself, Roush said.

In Long Island City, N.Y., a red 1985 Testarossa was stolen from a lot July 15 when the salesman showing the car got distracted, Roush said.

Those models are worth $50,000 to $60,000 each, he said.

"They (Ferraris) are regularly stolen in Europe and Italy, because it's easier to export them to another country, but it's hard to get them out of the U.S.," Roush said. "You have to have papers."

The suburban Philadelphia dealer does not blame his salesman, who he said did nothing wrong.

"If you're a good con man, you're going to con intelligent people," Craig said. "They're sharp people up there, and they got conned."

http://kyw.com/news/local_story_269223834.html

mmm.. not too smart IMO. You cant even hang a piss without ID these days, let-a-lone test drive an F50...
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Old 10-02-2003, 09:50 AM   #2
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yea i heard
i think i read it on jabbasworld last week or so
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Old 10-02-2003, 09:56 AM   #3
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Damn. Ive been out in the wilderness for the last week hence me not having a clue it was posted.

Oh well, its a nice refresher. Doh! ops:
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Old 10-02-2003, 11:02 AM   #4
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yea this was posted in the "Car Chat" forum a bit ago...

http://www.jabbasworld.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1922

I put some pics and a bit of what I know there, so check it out
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Old 12-16-2003, 05:51 PM   #5
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Did I get it right ?? Somebody stole a $729000 bright red Ferrari at midday in the center of Philadelphia?? Did that really happen or is that just a spoiler from the new "Gone in 60 seconds" movie ??
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Old 12-16-2003, 05:56 PM   #6
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That is crazy where would you sell a car like that they are so rare that if it popped up they would nab you on the spot. I give the guy an A+ for actually stealing the thing but where is he going to sell it.
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Old 12-16-2003, 07:01 PM   #7
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i heard they put it in a trailer and shipped it to a russian mafia boss
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Old 12-19-2003, 12:45 PM   #8
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i would like 2 be him!
that doesnt seem to hard to do... just go to the dealership and ask 4 a test drive...
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Old 12-19-2003, 02:51 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by crasherror
That is crazy where would you sell a car like that they are so rare that if it popped up they would nab you on the spot. I give the guy an A+ for actually stealing the thing but where is he going to sell it.
It even says on the article - the black market.
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Old 12-21-2003, 08:04 PM   #10
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Default Lol!

1. I can't believe that dealership had one of those, I live but a few miles from there. 2. Why didn't I think of that?
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Old 12-22-2003, 02:29 PM   #11
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You didn't think of it because the equally hard part would be trying to sell it.
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Old 12-22-2003, 02:46 PM   #12
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Well if you can't afford one --------- Just kidding
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Old 12-23-2003, 02:05 PM   #13
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I heard about a similair situation with a viper a couple years ago where a guy left his "wife" at a dealership while he test drove the car by himself. The "wife" turned out to be a hooker who helped the guy out for some money.
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Old 12-23-2003, 06:51 PM   #14
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lol its not that hard to sell..just sell it someone that doesnt need to reg the car easy enough..besides when they are stolen in the us they are either chopped up and parted out or shippied out of the country that goes for almost any car stolen

remember dados m3? that thing probably hit the nearest chop shop poor car
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Old 12-23-2003, 07:11 PM   #15
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This is why you have Lo Jack, if the ferrari had it, it would have been found within minutes.
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