Ferrari Gifted This F355 to Michael Schumacher. Now It’s For Sale Without Reserve

Finished in blue over beige, the Ferrari roadster has under 30,000 miles, a gated six-speed stick, and a mysterious engine allegedly tuned specifically for seven-time F1 champ Michael Schumacher. The post Ferrari Gifted This F355 to Michael Schumacher. Now It’s For Sale Without Reserve appeared first on The Drive.

Feb 3, 2025 - 20:10

Ferrari Gifted This F355 to Michael Schumacher. Now It’s For Sale Without Reserve

Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher’s former race cars rarely come up for sale, and they trade hands for seven-digit sums when they do. There’s a cheaper (but still not cheap!) way to add a Schumacher-driven Ferrari to your collection. RM Sotheby’s is selling a 1996 355 GTS that it claims is the first street-legal Ferrari driven by Schumacher after he joined the Scuderia. It features a really cool configuration and is being offered without a reserve.

Assigned VIN ZFFXR42B000105416, the 355 GTS was reportedly personally configured by Schumacher. It’s finished in Blu Le Mans with a Crema interior, which we’d argue is both attractive and subtle, and it’s equipped with a six-disc CD changer. What did Schumacher listen to? We’re not sure, but with the roof off he may not have been able to hear much over the glorious sound of a 3.5-liter V8 linked to a gated six-speed stick.

Service records included in the sale detail the 355’s history, according to RM Sotheby’s. It was delivered new in Germany on April 30, 1996, and first registered to Weber Management GmbH, a company owned by Schumacher’s manager Willi Weber. Schumacher allegedly used the car while staying at his residence in Monaco, but it doesn’t sound like he kept it for very long. Ferrari dealership Monaco Motors claims that it serviced the car for Schumacher until September 1997. The GTS went through the hands of two private owners in France before the seller bought it in 2004.

“Celebrity-owned” means different things to different people, but in this case, the link to Schumacher is well-documented. There are several pictures showing the championship-winning driver behind the wheel of his GTS, and he signed the back of the driver’s seat before he sold it.

Even without a link to Schumacher, this 355 GTS has a lot going for it. It looks like it’s in great shape, we’re not seeing any major visual modifications, and its odometer shows about 47,300 kilometers, which represents roughly 29,400 miles. That’s an annual average of a little over 1,000 miles. Ferrari Classiche certified the car in 2020 and discovered one important detail: the engine isn’t original. RM Sotheby’s says that a rumor claims this 355 GTS was fitted with “an uprated engine” before it was delivered to Schumacher, though this hasn’t been proven.

The 355 GTS is located in Paris, France, and registered in Belgium, though it’s old enough to import to the United States under the 25-year rule. Bidding opens on February 4, 2025, on the RM Sotheby’s website, and it’s a no-reserve auction so the highest bidder will become the next owner. While a pre-auction estimate isn’t available, well-sorted 355s can trade hands for close to $250,000. Here, the excellent overall condition and the documented link to Schumacher suggest that this GTS will become one of the most expensive 355s sold at auction regardless of body style.

If you’re too tall to fit in Schumacher’s former 355 GTS, you’ll need to track down the extra-spacious 355 Spider once owned by Shaquille O’Neal.