• News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
  • News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
Sign up Now (For Free)

Sign up for our newsletter and receive the latest automotive news in your inbox!

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing!
News
Read Now
  • All News
  • Automakers
  • Automobiles
  • Auto Shows
  • Business
  • EVs & Environment
  • Guides
  • Lawsuits/Legal
  • Regulatory
  • Ride-Sharing
  • Safety & Recalls
  • Technology
Recent
  • Will Apple Achieve What Automakers Can’t?
  • Q&A: Tristan Murphy, Cadillac Lyriq Interior Design Manager
  • Sales Battle Royal Rages in Pickup Segment
  • Toyota is No. 3 — Third Automaker to Pass EV Tax Credit Threshold
  • Ford Gains Ground on Strong June Sales, Up 31.5% YOY
  • Q&A: Cadillac Lyriq Exterior Design Manager Josh Thurber
  • After 18% Sales Slide, Tesla No Longer World’s Best-Selling EV Brand
  • Get Updated on Cars, EVs and More with the Headlight News Podcast
  • Founder of Spartan Diesel Technologies Faces a Year in Jail for Selling Diesel Defeat Devices
  • What Costs More: New Car or Rent? The $1K a Month Car Payment Hit’s New Highs
Editor’s Choice
    Reviews
    Read Now
    • All Reviews
    • Classic Cars
    • Concept Cars
    • Convertibles
    • Coupes
    • Crossovers/CUVs
    • Diesel
    • Hot hatches
    • Hybrids
    • Luxury Vehicles
    • Minivans
    • Muscle Cars
    • Pickups
    • Sedans
    • Sports Cars
    • Super Cars
    • SUVs
    Recent Reviews
    • A Week With: 2022 Lexus NX 350h
    • A Week With: 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe Overland
    • A Week With: 2022 Volkswagen Tiguan SE R-Line Black
    • First Drive: 2023 Cadillac Lyriq
    • First Drive: 2022 Ford Bronco Everglades Edition
    • A Week With: 2022 Mazda3 2.5 S AWD Hatchback
    • First Drive: 2023 Honda HR-V
    • First Drive: 2022 Ford Bronco Raptor
    • A Week With: 2022 GMC Terrain AT4 AWD
    • A Week With: 2022 Cadillac Escalade Sport
    Editor’s Choice
      Guides
      Car Warranty
      • Endurance Warranty Reviews
      • BMW Extended Warranty
      • Extended Warranty For Cars Over 100k Miles
      • Extended Car Warranty Cost
      • Subaru Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Reviews
      • CarShield Cost
      • Aftermarket Car Warranty
      • CARCHEX Warranty Reviews
      • Reputable Extended Car Warranty Companies
      • Used Car Warranty Companies
      • Best Car Warranty
      • Is CarShield A Scam?
      • Mercedes Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Plans
      Insurance
      • How To Identify A Car Insurance Company
      • Geico Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • How Far Back Does A Car Insurance Company Look
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance For Used Cars
      • State Farm Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance From Progressive
      • Dollar A Day Insurance
      • Auto Insurance For SSI Recipients
      • Car Insurance Rates After A Suspended License
      • Auto Insurance For Salvage Vehicles
      • Average Cost of Dodge Ram 1500 Car Insurance
      • Car Insurance Florida
      • Full Coverage Auto Insurance
      • GrubHub Insurance
      • Amazon Delivery Auto Insurance
      Shipping
      • Car Shipping Companies
      • uShip Reviews
      • Auto Shipping From California To Hawaii
      • Montway Auto Transport Reviews
      • Cheap Car Shipping
      • Easy Auto Ship Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Miami
      • Auto Shipping To Alaska
      • Car Shipping Cost
      • Auto Shipping Hawaii
      • Auto Shipping Puerto Rico
      • Sherpa Auto Transport Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Atlanta
      • Auto Shipping Boston
      • Auto Shipping. Chicago
      About
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • Affiliate Disclosure
      • Sitemap
      TheDetroitBureau.com

      More than just “another” place to find news, reviews, spy shots, commentary, features, and guides about the auto industry. TheDetroitBureau doesn’t stop with the press releases or confuse a few lines of opinion with insightful, in-depth reporting.

      Contact Us

      Like what you see? Have some ideas for making The Detroit Bureau.com even better? Let us know, we’d love to hear your voice.

        Media
        Listen Now
        • Headlight News: All Episodes
        More from TheDetroitBureau
        • Guides
        • Latest News
        • Auto Reviews
        • Podcasts
        Headlight News

        TheDetroitBureau.com’s Headlight News offers a look at the past week’s top automotive news stories, as well as what’s coming up in the week ahead. Check out the week’s top story and our latest review…along with a dive into the past with this week in automotive history.

        home > news > Automakers > U.S. Attorney Forced to Figure Out Rightful Owner of Well-Traveled 1996 Ferrari F50

        U.S. Attorney Forced to Figure Out Rightful Owner of Well-Traveled 1996 Ferrari F50

        A car worth fighting over.

        Larry Printz
        Larry Printz , Executive Editor
        March 23, 2021
        Stolen 1996 Ferrari F50
        The U.S. Attorney’s Office is trying to determine the rightful owner of this 1996 Ferrari F50 valued at $1.9 million.

        It isn’t every day that a car catches the attention of the Department of Justice. But last week, U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy Jr. announced that the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York filed a civil action seeking to determine the ownership of a 1996 Ferrari F50, a car valued at $1.9 million.

        If there was a Ferrari worth going to court over, this is certainly it. Plus, how tough can it be to determine who owns a limited-edition nearly 30-year-old Ferrari? Well, that’s why it’s going to court.

        Launched in 1995, the F50 mined Ferrari’s Formula One technology as a follow up to the F40, the final car developed under Enzo Ferrari before his death in 1988 that, in turn, descended from the 288 GTO. With such a distinguished bloodline, its performance pedigree is unquestionable. It represents the finest in Ferrari technology, which emanates from racing.

        A rare breed indeed

        Created to celebrate the company’s 50th anniversary, 349 F50s were built, and of those, a mere 55 were produced for the U.S. market.

        U.S. Attorney NY James P. Kennedy
        U.S. Attorney James Kennedy is handling the effort to determine who rightfully owns the F50.

        Best described as a Formula One car with an extra seat, the F50 uses a carbon-fiber tub, a common occurrence on modern supercars, but far rarer nearly three decades ago. Pininfarina was tapped to supply the lightweight composite body, which featured a detachable hardtop.

        Its 4.7-liter, naturally aspirated V-12 engine featured five valves per cylinder and twin overhead camshafts and was derived from the 3.5-liter V-12 Formula One engine Ferrari employed in the 1990 season in the Ferrari 641 F1. In this configuration, it develops 512 horsepower at 8,000 rpm through the 6-speed manual gearbox. Being true to its racecar routes, the F50 lacks power steering and anti-lock brakes.

        The V-12 in the F50-12 bolts directly to the car’s carbon fiber tub by means of metal subframes. This reduces weight while adding rigidity, but also transmits a lot of vibration into the cabin.

        When new, Ferrari would only lease the F50 for two years before Ferrari would sign the title over to customers in an effort to thwart speculators.

        A troubled trip

        The 1996 Ferrari F50 that was being transported across the border to Mohammed Alsaloussi of Miami, Florida, who paid $1.435 million for it. Registered to Ikonick Collection Ltd., in Edmonton, it has 10,708 miles on the clock, and wears Alberta, Canada license plates.

        Peace Bridge Buffalo NY
        U.S. Customs agents stopped the Ferrari F50 at the Peace Bridge in Buffalo, N.Y. when they noticed the VIN tag rivets were changed.

        As it crossed from Canada into the United States on Dec. 14, 2019, it was examined by Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, who noticed that rivets on the VIN were covered in a black tar-like material, which clearly wasn’t factory standard. CBP placed a hold on the car, contacting Ferrari and the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

        It then came to light that the F50 had been stolen from a hotel parking garage in Iola, Italy in March 2003, a month after an Italian man, Paolo Provenzi, bought the car along with his father Remigio Provenzi, and his brother, Roberto Provenzi, according to information obtained from Ferrari.

        Provenzi never recovered the car.

        All parties involved now claim to own the car, but the CBP will not decide on the rightful owner.

        “After an 18-year odyssey, which we know took it across continents and countries, we have decided that the time has come for a court of law to determine the rightful owner of the vehicle,” said U.S. Attorney Kennedy, in a statement.

        Until a decision is handed down, the car remains in CBP custody. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul C. Parisi is handling the case.

        Questions remain

        Given its significance, it’s little wonder there’s one car is the at the center of an international car collector tug-of-war.

        But questions still surround this car, ones that have yet to be answered, such as how the car found its way to Canada, or why two years ago, a Japanese man asked Porvenzi to drop the police report, according to The Buffalo New.

        “When this is over, there’s going to be a movie made about this,” Provenzi’s attorney Alessandra Piras told the newspaper.

        Recently Published

        Will Apple Achieve What Automakers Can’t?

        Today
        2023 Cadillac Lyriq glass roof REL

        Q&A: Tristan Murphy, Cadillac Lyriq Interior Design Manager

        Today
        2022 Ford F-Series Super Duty Lariat Tremor front

        Sales Battle Royal Rages in Pickup Segment

        Today

        Leave a Reply Cancel reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

        Share this article:
        © The Detroit Bureau 2022
        • Guides
        • Privacy Policy
        • Terms of Use
        • Affiliate Disclosure
        • Contact Us
        • Sitemap
        Follow Us: