As a driver on the glamorous, jet-setting Components 1 circuit, naturally the Austrian Gerhard Berger drove some severe iron, even away from the observe: a purple Ferrari 512M Testarossa.

So it was very seemingly with some dismay that he watched his automobile unexpectedly drive away with another person behind the wheel.

The theft occurred on the 1995 San Marino Grand Prix in Imola, Italy. Berger jumped within the path of the automobile, in line with stories on the time, however needed to leap out of the way in which because it zoomed off.

He then gamely gave chase in a good friend’s Volkswagen Golf, which went about in addition to you’d have anticipated it to. The Ferrari was gone.

Excellent news, nonetheless: The automobile has been recovered. And it took solely 28 years.

The automobile’s whereabouts have been unknown till earlier this 12 months, when Ferrari contacted the Metropolitan Police in London a couple of suspicious car being offered by a British dealer.

The police decided the automobile had been despatched to Japan shortly after being stolen after which dropped at Britain late final 12 months.

No arrests have been made. A second Ferrari stolen on the identical Grand Prix from the French driver Jean Alesi stays lacking.

Why would this automobile specifically appeal to a thief, or the individuals who employed them to steal it?

The Testarossa is considered one of Ferrari’s most well-known makes, initially manufactured in 1984. The 512M variant that Berger drove was made between 1994 and 1996; solely 501 of them have been produced. It was the ultimate Testarossa.

Mr. Berger couldn’t be reached for remark. He completed third on the 1995 San Marino Grand Prix, however might not have one of the best recollections of the week in Italy.

The theft was brazen not solely in the way it was carried out, however due to the goal itself. As Dave North of Wayne, N.J., a Ferrari professional and a member of the Ferrari Membership of America, Empire State Area, famous: “It takes loads of nerve to steal one. Everybody is aware of their Ferrari serial quantity.”

Stephan Markowski of Nyack, N.Y., one other Ferrari professional who has labored on the automaker’s vehicles for years, had a idea as to the automobile’s enduring recognition. “I occur to fall proper in that excellent age of people that love the Testarossa,” he mentioned. “Miami Vice was on TV, and the Testarossa was that iconic white Miami Vice automobile.”

“It was so ’80s, nevertheless it held up remarkably nicely,” he mentioned. “It’s superb how nicely that automobile has aged.”

Mr. Berger was not the one well-known individual to decide on the automobile. The baseball star Gary Sheffield pleaded no contest to a reckless driving cost in 1994 after being caught going greater than 110 miles an hour on Interstate 4 in a Testarossa. Michael Jordan picked up a ticket in 1989 when his Testarossa was going 90 m.p.h. in a 60 m.p.h. zone. Jean-Claude Duvalier, the previous Haitian dictator, drove a purple Testarossa whereas in exile on the French Riviera.

The New York Instances was additionally not proof against the charms of the Testarossa, to say the least. “Wish to meet attractive members of the alternative intercourse?” a information columnist requested in 1996. “For assured outcomes, purchase a Ferrari and cruise the shops. Whereas we’re on the topic, don’t purchase simply any Ferrari. Make it the F512M, arguably probably the most stunning and definitely probably the most recognizable Ferrari ever constructed.”

The column added: “No different automobile that’s authorized to drive in the US presents a comparable mixture of glamour, aesthetics and efficiency.”

In 1988, not lengthy after the Testarossa was launched, Enzo Ferrari, the corporate’s founder, died. That elevated the automobile’s worth for collectors even additional, because it was one of many final vehicles instantly related to him.

Offered on it but? The police mentioned Mr. Berger’s automobile had a worth of 350,000 kilos (about $445,000). Different 512Ms have been just lately listed on the market on-line between $500,000 and $700,000.