Michael Schumacher’s First Ferrari Was Perfectly Specced

How would you like to own Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari? No, not a Schumacher Ferrari, as in a car that he drove during one of the most epic F1 careers of all time, but his own personal car. The car, believed to be his very first Ferrari, was delivered a few months after he moved to the team, and his autograph features the front end center on the driver’s seat of this F355.

When Schumacher moved to Ferrari in 1995, hot off of two F1 World Championships with Benetton, the $60 million the Italians offered him probably had a lot to do with it. But the F355 GTS, which was brand-new for the 1996 model year, might have had something to do with it. Now, it can be yours if your bid is the highest.

Schumacher Took Delivery Of This Rocket And Drove 1,000 Miles That Week

This F355 GTS was delivered to Weber Management GmbH, the company belonging to Michael Schumacher’s manager at the time, Willi Weber, on April 30, 1996. It was delivered through a Ferrari dealer in Wiesbaden, just two days after Schumacher finished second at the European Grand Prix.

Days later, says the RM Sotheby’s listing, Schumacher had it serviced near his home in Monaco. The car already had 1,000 miles on the odometer. Clearly, he wanted to get the break-in service out of the way and see what the V8 could really do. A letter from the service center confirms that this was Schumacher’s car and that it handled maintenance for him until late 1997.

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Turn the volume up for the glorious engine notes of yesteryear.

How did Schumacher spec his car? Not in the bright yellow like the one in Jensen Button’s garage when he raced at Williams, or the red you might expect from the car and the era, this one is the stunning Blu Le Mans over Pelle Crema leather. It’s a gorgeous combination for the targa-top F355. More importantly, he didn’t get one of the world’s first flappy paddle gearboxes like some F355s, but the correct choice.

Rumor Has It This Car Came With An Even Hotter Engine

The current owner has had the car since 2004, purchasing it at auction that year. It has been driven, though sparingly, with around 30,000 miles on the odometer now.

In 2020, Ferrari Classiche, the brand’s historical department, certified the car as having its original color, chassis, transmission, and body. But it doesn’t have the original engine. The listing claims “rumor has it” the car was fitted with a hotter engine before Schumacher took delivery but notes that hasn’t been proven conclusively.

It’s a stunning car without the history, but with Michael Schumacher’s name on it, it’s something else entirely. And we mean it literally with his name on it. The rear cover of the driver’s seat wears a massive signature that any new owner is going to want to figure out how to protect.

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Some of the lots include Schumacher’s Formula 1 helmets and race suits.

When this blue beauty was new, it would have set you back around $140,000. For that, you got a 375-horsepower 3.5-liter V8 with revolutionary five-valve heads. For this car’s history, you’re going to pay a whole lot more. But who cares, when you can throw on a pair of Oakley Eye Jackets, slot Jagged Little Pill into the tape deck, and make that V8 sing. Bidding opens tomorrow at an RM Sotheby’s closed auction. Sorry, peasants. As it turns out, you can’t have this one. Perhaps someday, you can have Sir Lewis Hamilton’s first Ferrari since joining the team, whatever that might be. We expect it’ll be the new F80, and sadly, that’s nowhere near as elegant as this, whatever the color scheme.

Source: RM Sotheby’s