Photo: Facebook / De Ooyevaar Autodemontage
The Ferrari Mondial is arguably the most hated model to come out of the Prancing Horse. It is so universally loathed that some might not even consider it a Ferrari at all.
They would do this one, though. A 1987 Mondial stolen some 26 years ago and dumped at the bottom of a river in the Netherlands, has been uncovered by accident and retrieved, and is now basking in the love and attention it never got back when it was still a running car. It’s ironic how things work out in life, isn’t it?
According to the NL Times, the 1987 Ferrari was reported stolen in the early 1990s, with the Dutch police declaring the search over in 1994, when they agreed the car was irretrievably lost. The insurer paid off the owner and the whole matter was put to bed.
Or so everyone thought.
In June this year, the Dutch fire brigade was on a diving exercise in the waters of the IJ River and they came across a rectangular body that looked like a car. Police was called and they dived in later that month, but were still unable to recover the vehicle. Fire department and Defense Ministry divers were called in, and the submerged car was finally brought to the surface one week later. After a couple more days, all loose ends were tied: police tracked the uncovered object to the Mondial reported missing decades ago.
A forensic investigation determined that no crime had been committed with the vehicle (other than the theft of it, that is), so it was released to the rightful owner – which, in this case, was the insurance company that had paid off the original owner. Given that the Mondial spent at least 26 years underwater, the insurer declared it a write-off and sent it to the local junkyard De Ooyevaar Autodemontage.
This would have been the end of the story, but for this particular Ferrari, it’s only the beginning. The story went viral, so the owner of the company decided against crushing it. He tells Top Gear Netherlands that it’s now being displayed outside their office: the star of its own show.
He is entertaining the idea of handing it over to a museum but he’s also talking to Ferrari and classic collectors who, apparently, have a new-discovered love and appreciation of the Mondial.
“There are still some useful parts, but most parts will really be for the hobby or for the art,” he explains. “I have already received a number of requests from people who want to make a table with glass plate, for example from the engine block or the rims. We will leave the car completely intact for the time being, as a kind of attraction with us at the entrance.”
Ferrari made under 1,000 units of the Mondial in total and it’s safe to say that not a single one of them has enjoyed the love, attention and fame this one has – even though it’s been long dead.
According to the NL Times, the 1987 Ferrari was reported stolen in the early 1990s, with the Dutch police declaring the search over in 1994, when they agreed the car was irretrievably lost. The insurer paid off the owner and the whole matter was put to bed.
Or so everyone thought.
In June this year, the Dutch fire brigade was on a diving exercise in the waters of the IJ River and they came across a rectangular body that looked like a car. Police was called and they dived in later that month, but were still unable to recover the vehicle. Fire department and Defense Ministry divers were called in, and the submerged car was finally brought to the surface one week later. After a couple more days, all loose ends were tied: police tracked the uncovered object to the Mondial reported missing decades ago.
A forensic investigation determined that no crime had been committed with the vehicle (other than the theft of it, that is), so it was released to the rightful owner – which, in this case, was the insurance company that had paid off the original owner. Given that the Mondial spent at least 26 years underwater, the insurer declared it a write-off and sent it to the local junkyard De Ooyevaar Autodemontage.
This would have been the end of the story, but for this particular Ferrari, it’s only the beginning. The story went viral, so the owner of the company decided against crushing it. He tells Top Gear Netherlands that it’s now being displayed outside their office: the star of its own show.
He is entertaining the idea of handing it over to a museum but he’s also talking to Ferrari and classic collectors who, apparently, have a new-discovered love and appreciation of the Mondial.
“There are still some useful parts, but most parts will really be for the hobby or for the art,” he explains. “I have already received a number of requests from people who want to make a table with glass plate, for example from the engine block or the rims. We will leave the car completely intact for the time being, as a kind of attraction with us at the entrance.”
Ferrari made under 1,000 units of the Mondial in total and it’s safe to say that not a single one of them has enjoyed the love, attention and fame this one has – even though it’s been long dead.
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