This 1991 Ferrari F40 hasn’t lived the typical supercar life. While most of its siblings enjoy posh lifestyles, cruising through the streets of Miami or Beverly Hills, this car has a different story to tell. While on a routine test drive, the car was wrecked. The car was subsequently sold and purchased by the world-famous Gas Monkey Garage. Reportedly paying $400,000 for the wrecked car, it took a few hundred thousand more dollars to get the frame straight and put the car back together. But that is just the start of the story…
By the time the Ferrari specialists were brought in and the Gas Monkey crew was done with the rebuild, the car was better than new. It was put on air ride (which reportedly was a first for this model), the engine was tweaked to over 550 horsepower and the car was dropped on custom wheels and tires. After the car was complete, it was auctioned at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale, 2014. The buyer was none other than Reggie Jackson! Mr. Jackson spent $742,500 on the car and had it for about a year. He decided it was too fast and subsequently sold it at Barrett-Jackson a year later taking a nearly $100,000 loss! But the most interesting part of this cars journey is yet to come…
The winning bidder at the second auction was California businessman Richard Scott. Mr. Scott owned a company which operated parking lots throughout the Los Angeles area and built an amazing car collection that spoke to his success. However, according to the Hemmings article: “In 2018, Scott pleaded guilty to defrauding the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs out of more than $13 million, his actions stretching back roughly 15 years. Now serving a six-year sentence in federal prison, Scott was also ordered to pay restitution of $12.6 million, much of it coming from the sale of seized assets.”
The liquidation of Mr. Scott’s assets include some amazing cars besides the F40 including the following: 2005 Ferrari F430, a 2014 Ferrari California, a 1969 Chevrolet L88 Corvette convertible, a 1966 Chevrolet Corvette coupe, a 1968 Chevrolet convertible, a 2010 Mustang Shelby GT500 Super Snake, and a 2015 Mercedes S65 AMG. All are being auctioned online, along with seized vehicles from other sources, by Apple Auctioneering. In fact, Richard Rawlings from Gas Monkey Garage posted on social media that he may bid on the car and try and get it back! If you want to read more details about this car, check out the story here on Hemmings.com.
So many veterans not getting proper care and this guy steals $13 million from them? Is he proud of himself? I hope only for the worst for him.
Jeez I thought that was all fixed now!
Stealing that much money just to buy stuff is so prosaic a crime as to be unsurprising. Stealing from the government is most likely a common occurrence, witness the fraud engaged in by an active duty Admiral and line officers in San Diego in their collusion with a Filipino contractor to inflate the value of contracts and skim the difference.
Military service doesn’t protect you from being a crook or a “victim”.
Seen on a bumper sticker…
“Don’t steal. The government hates competition. “
https://collinsbrosjeep.com/autographed-ferrari-f40-poster/ this actual poster can be purchased here.
C’mon Dennis. Trying to sell your own autographed poster? That’s some Richard stuff right there. Everyone sees you as the sensible friend of the pair. Let’s keep it that way.
Ha! Definitely not his style. But funny nonetheless.
OOOOOOOH , Signed by Dennis,
BDSWWFC ?
Interesting story, thanks for sharing.
What did R Scott pay for the F40 in the auction he picker it up at ?
… and any thoughts on what it’ll sell for at this auction ?
Apparently from the story at the top here Mr.October paid $742K for it and auctioned it a year later for a loss of at least of $100K so as I read it scummer Scott paid $642K or thereabouts for it, leaving Barrett Jackson the only ones smiling in this whole mess.
I watched the gas monkey episode when they rebuilt this car. I’m surprised Reggie Jackson bought this cobbled together F40. The frame looked like a dog hinds leg before they started heating it up with a torch. I know these are highly prized machines but I wouldn’t buy nothing that came out of gas monkey garage,
Right!? Like, why do they always put everything in air ride suspension. As if that’s better than Ferrari-tuned suspension. There’s a reason they were the first to do it. It’s a bad idea.
go to the auction page, the F40 is not there anymore
Comments are broken
You might have hit your limit UK Paul. I got this comment in my email though. ‘Test. Comments not posting?’
Thank you, seems to be ok now. Very strange :)
A $100,000 loss has gotta hurt.
To rich people these are “investments” and any loss can and will be written off on their taxes….
No longer listed. I wouldn’t trust the bids on that site. They seem to be fluffed. $13k for a 6 cylinder Mustang coupe? I don’t think so.
An auto auction/car dealer not on the up and up? I’ve never heard such a thing…
When Gas Monkey did the rebuild on this car I admit I was a bit appalled by all the modifications but I guess they knew what they were doing since they made a healthy profit. Richard Rawlings may be obnoxious but he mixes in enough self deprecation to make it tolerable. Aaron was the real star of the show.
F40s are among the coolest Ferraris made and that’s saying a lot since there are so many cool Ferraris. But they are toys for rich guys who sometimes aren’t the most upstanding people. Given my middle class status I would love to have one of these but I have no illusions that I belong in the group who actually own them. Nor am I sure I’d want to belong.
It’s the adolescent in all of us who appreciate the engineering, the performance, the style, and the aura of a supercar. That kid with the poster of a Countach pushpinned to the wall of his bedroom lives on. Nice car, even if the provenance has been sullied.
Interesting post, hits a lot of buttons for me, none having to do with the car, as cool as it is.
What I want to know, yea I’ll go talk to mr google after this post, is how did a guy running parking lots screw the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs out of more than $13 million?
Second, why did Dennis post pitching posters? Sitting on a bunch of them? Dude going after the next holy grail car has got to be more profitable. Probably posted by someone in his office.
Third I’m not a big tv watcher but I have to admit stuff like Gas monkey, Oak island, Gold rush, get me going, power, hydraulics yea!
I find Gas monkey Richard and Aaron play off sort of interesting and yea Aaron rocks.
Last, recently I was watching “A hitch hikers guide to the galaxy” and kept thinking how much the character played by Sam Rockwell, Zaphod Beeblebrox, prez of the universe, reminded me of Richard Rawlings.
Sorry, like I said nothing to do with the car but odd how things in this world align.
Agree…..
Ok here is how he did it.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/richard-scott-parking-lot-operator-swindled-los-angeles-va/
Darn it!! No longer available? And I just dug up the coffee can with my retirement money I had buried in the backyard.
Another parking lot story. Don’t recall if I was told this or I read it in the paper. Someone from there can fill in any blanks. Years ago a guy in Calgary set up a booth on the lot of a downtown skyscraper. Ran it everyday for ?? many years. One day he just wasn’t there any more. I believe everyone just assumed he worked for the corp. Nobody knew who he was and I don’t believe they ever found him. Must have made some good coin.
@moose_feather
The story that I read about occurred in England at an amusement park. Dunno if it’s the same one or if even true. As always, YMMV…
Also read the parking lot story from England. It was in our local paper. Apparently true. He took the money and retired.
That auction / tow company has some nice vehicles. Wonder how many are ghost bids to bump the price?
$100,000 dollar loss? That’s nothing, I have lost that much sleeping!
Bitcoin investor?
interesting