Stories

Stories behind the Chassis

Eleven cars, told through the people, the places and the papers they left behind. Every story names its sources and keeps its open questions.

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Further on07The card that changed the story 08Hans Hugenholtz’s GTO 09A Boxer changed beyond its colour 10A stripe with a story to trace 11A blue 308 and a reply from Maranello

The black 308 GTS Quattrovalvole with its roof panel off and tan seats, on the grass beside a blue Maserati — On a show field in 2016 · Supplied photograph

A cake iced Happy 40th Birthday #51665 on the black front lid of the 308 — 4 May 2024, forty years to the day

S/N 51665 · 308 GTS Quattrovalvole · 1984

The black GTS, forty years to the day

Built for America on 4 May 1984 in black over tan, and Mitchel DeFrancis’s since at least 2003. On its fortieth birthday it got a cake.

Still open · No record from 1985 to 2002

Which dealer sold it in 1984, and who kept it before 2003?

Read the story In the Register

A red F40 with event number 4 driving along a country road — Photograph attributed to the 2022 Cavalcade Classiche

S/N 80776 · F40 · 1989

The F40 linked to Piero Ferrari

A supplied history makes the link. A 2022 photograph adds details that are still being traced.

Still open · No record from 1990 to 2021

Can original delivery and later records establish this F40’s reported Ferrari-family history?

Read the story In the Register

At speed in the Netherlands · Supplied photograph, date unrecorded

The front of the silver 308 GTB by the sea with a Japanese plate reading 19-76 — In Japan, a plate that reads its year

S/N 19169 · 308 GTB Vetroresina · 1976

The silver GTB that went to Japan

Bought at Brooks in Monaco by Marlon van der Meer, now one of the people behind Maranello Data. A film, a rally beside a prince, then Japan.

Still open · No record from 1977 to 1998

Who kept the car through its first twenty-three years in Italy, and where is it in Japan today?

Read the story In the Register

The grey 360 at night with an open door, tan interior and Dutch plate 38-DT-XS — A stop after dark · Supplied photograph, date unrecorded

S/N 118037 · 360 Modena F1 · 1999

The Ferrari in Spyker’s story

An eyewitness account links this 360 to the beginnings of the modern Spyker.

Still open · No record from 2001 to 2013

Can the factory and ownership records complete the early account, and where has chassis 118037 been since the last reported registration trace?

Read the story In the Register

The light blue 812 GTS on the dealership forecourt beside yellow and red Ferraris — Among other Ferraris, January 2026 · Supplied photograph

Ferrari’s Tailor Made certificate for the 812 GTS, chassis ZFF97CMB000300651 — Certified by Ferrari, Modena, 7 November 2023

S/N 300651 · 812 GTS · 2023

On record from the start

A Tailor Made 812 GTS, kept on record from its specification in 2022 to its first Dutch sightings. A file can start on day one.

Still open

When was it registered in the Netherlands, and what will its services, journeys and sales add from here?

Read the story In the Register

A black Testarossa with its doors open, bearing registration NA N93951 — Supplied period photograph · date and photographer not established

A black Testarossa from the rear, with registration NA N93951 — Another view. The same visible plate.

S/N 67541 · Testarossa · 1987

The black Testarossa

The car associated with Diego Maradona, and a warranty card that appears to name him.

Read the story In the Register

A period colour photograph of the dark 308 GT4 from its left side and rear, with silver five-spoke wheels — The car in its earlier years · Period photograph, undated

Black-and-white photograph of the 308 GT4 from the front, with registration 00-RR-11 beneath the grille — A face from 1979

S/N 13462 · 308 GT4 · 1977

The card that changed the story

A dealer’s card index, a barn and two blues. The owner’s own research follows this 308 GT4 from 1977 to its restoration.

Still open · No record from 1985 to 1995

Who had the car between about 1984 and 1996, and when was it repainted from Azzurro Cielo to Blu Sera?

Read the story In the Register

A red 288 GTO with Dutch plate NJ-89-LH in a showroom — NJ-89-LH in a showroom · date and place unrecorded

Rear view of a red 288 GTO with registration NJ-89-LH beside a silver open Ferrari and a red F40 — Three Ferraris, one familiar plate · date unrecorded

S/N 53319 · 288 GTO · 1984

Hans Hugenholtz’s GTO

Number 150 at Zandvoort, almost four weeks before its recorded delivery.

Still open · No record from 2000 to 2009

Which original records establish the early appearances, explain the June meeting before July delivery, and connect the later years?

Read the story In the Register

Photographs © Peter Grootswagers · 7 November 2020

The Boxer’s cabin with a black bucket seat, red harness and roll-cage tubing — Inside the modified car

S/N 21513 · 512 BB · 1977

A Boxer changed beyond its colour

Sold new as a red road car. Later yellow, with competition-style bodywork.

Still open · No record from 1991 to 2019

When did each part of the transformation happen, and where did the later engine come from?

Read the story In the Register

A black Challenge Stradale with a tricolore stripe, seen from the front left — Supplied photograph · date not established

S/N 135973 · 360 Challenge Stradale · 2004

A stripe with a story to trace

Delivered in Italy, later recorded in Britain. When the tricolore stripe was fitted is still open.

Still open · No record from 2015 to 2025

When was the stripe installed, and what do the original order and surviving registration and service papers establish?

Read the story In the Register

A dark blue 308 GTB with a red cabin in a workshop, seen from the front quarter — Supplied workshop photograph · capture date not established

The red 308 cabin with dark seat inserts and an open gearshift gate — The red within

S/N 19231 · 308 GTB Vetroresina · 1976

A blue 308 and a reply from Maranello

A photographed Ferrari reply names the blue paint and red leather. The original papers still need checking.

Still open · No record from 1977 to 1989

Can the factory, delivery and component records connect the photographed car to its full early history?

Read the story In the Register

Still open

Every story ends with a question

Old photographs, invoices and service books answer them. If one of these cars passed through your hands, or your family’s, its story can grow.

How rewards work Every published car is in the Register

S/N 51665Which dealer sold it in 1984, and who kept it before 2003?
S/N 19169Who kept the car through its first twenty-three years in Italy, and where is it in Japan today?
S/N 300651When was it registered in the Netherlands, and what will its services, journeys and sales add from here?
S/N 53319Which original records establish the early appearances, explain the June meeting before July delivery, and connect the later years?
S/N 135973When was the stripe installed, and what do the original order and surviving registration and service papers establish?

S/N 51665Which dealer sold it in 1984, and who kept it before 2003?
S/N 19169Who kept the car through its first twenty-three years in Italy, and where is it in Japan today?
S/N 300651When was it registered in the Netherlands, and what will its services, journeys and sales add from here?
S/N 53319Which original records establish the early appearances, explain the June meeting before July delivery, and connect the later years?
S/N 135973When was the stripe installed, and what do the original order and surviving registration and service papers establish?

S/N 80776Can original delivery and later records establish this F40’s reported Ferrari-family history?
S/N 118037Can the factory and ownership records complete the early account, and where has chassis 118037 been since the last reported registration trace?
S/N 13462Who had the car between about 1984 and 1996, and when was it repainted from Azzurro Cielo to Blu Sera?
S/N 21513When did each part of the transformation happen, and where did the later engine come from?
S/N 19231Can the factory, delivery and component records connect the photographed car to its full early history?

S/N 80776Can original delivery and later records establish this F40’s reported Ferrari-family history?
S/N 118037Can the factory and ownership records complete the early account, and where has chassis 118037 been since the last reported registration trace?
S/N 13462Who had the car between about 1984 and 1996, and when was it repainted from Azzurro Cielo to Blu Sera?
S/N 21513When did each part of the transformation happen, and where did the later engine come from?
S/N 19231Can the factory, delivery and component records connect the photographed car to its full early history?

Stories behind the Chassis

Every story ends with a question

Every story starts with a chassis number.