Why Michael Schumacher’s family sells the Ferrari that Michael gave them as a present
It is a Ferrari F430 Spider that the German driver bought in 2005 with a plate with his signature engraved on it. It is being sold in Switzerland, where the former driver lives with his family.
Schumacher’s fans still have no news about his condition, now that 10 years have passed since his tragic accident (it was on December 29, 2013).
Only Jean Todt, his former boss at Ferrari, as well as a friend, usually makes some hint every time he visits the German and his family in Switzerland, where they live.
The last comments he made recently to the newspaper L’Equipe, in which he acknowledged that
“Michael is here, so I don’t miss him. He’s just not the Michael he used to be.” He added: “He is different and he is wonderfully guided by his wife and children, who protect him.”
14 million for a single-seater
Everything related to ‘the Kaiser’ is in some way sprinkled with his legend. And this is something that happens with his Formula 1 cars (in 2022 a single-seater from 2003 was auctioned for 14 million euros), and with everything that belonged to him, especially helmets, overalls, gloves, boots…
What has now appeared on the market is the Ferrari F430 Spider that the brand gave to the German (it is not known if for free or at a ‘friend’s price’) in 2005, the year in which Michael was to hand over the world champion’s crown to Fernando Alonso.
Red, beige and black
This is a left-hand drive model with the popular Ferrari combination of red exterior and beige interior (except for the dashboard, which is black to avoid reflections), complemented by a black hood.
The F430 had been released in 2004 as an evolution of the less successful 360, which it replaced, so putting it in Michael’s hands was a good marketing tool at a time when instagram was probably not even in the minds of its creators yet.
311 km/h
It was equipped with a 4.3-liter naturally aspirated V8 that delivered 490 hp, and associated with a six-speed automatic transmission with huge paddles behind the steering wheel was capable of making this Spider version go from 0 to 100 in 4.1 seconds and reach 311 km/h.
And, also as a novelty, it was the first Ferrari to have the ‘mannetino’, which allowed changing the response of the engine, gearbox, stability control and differential operation by means of a selector on the steering wheel that reminded Michael of the ones in his Formula 1.
Two signatures, for lack of one
But MARCA has been able to learn that the car was never (or almost never) used by him, but was given as a gift to his father. In fact, it is still registered in the name of Rolf Schumacher (that’s his father’s name, not Ralf).
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