Michael Schumacher's first personal Ferrari is up for sale
The F355 GTS was the new Ferrari of 1995 and the driver received one in Le Mans blue. On the seat is his autograph
On Tuesday, 4 February in Paris, the auction house RM Sotheby's will be auctioning off a very special Ferrari. Michael Schumacher's F355 GTS is believed to be the first Ferrari that the Formula 1 driver drove as a personal sports car when he joined the Prancing Horse team. It was early 1996 and the F355 GTS, which had just been unveiled, was the latest model in the Maranello range.
What makes this supercar, which has changed hands several times over the years, even more special is the German driver's autograph on his seat and the many photos in the newspapers of them together. The price? That will be interesting to find out after the auction.
Personally configured by Schumacher
Built in early 1996, Schumacher's F355 GTS is finished in Le Mans Blue with a cream leather interior, a combination said to have been chosen by Schumacher himself. The maintenance booklet states that it was delivered to Weber Management GmbH (the company of Michael Schumacher's manager, Willi Weber) on 30 April 1996: just two days after the European Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, where Schumacher finished second.
Michael Schumacher's Ferrari F355 GTS
Michael Schumacher's Ferrari F355 GTS, rear view
Schumacher would drive it mostly at his residence in Munich; where the car received its first service on 5 May 1996, having already covered 1,639 km (1,018 miles).
The Ferrari F355 GTS with Michael Schumacher in a newspaper of the time
The autograph on the seat of Michael Schumacher's Ferrari F355 GTS
A letter shows that the official Ferrari service centre in Monaco serviced it for him until September 1997. Then, although it is not known how long Weber Management owned the F355 GTS, nor how long it was used by Schumacher, in May 2002 the car came into the possession of Pierre Valentin of Mougins, France, and later Christopher Allen of Vallauris.
A well-preserved F355 GTS
The F355 GTS was purchased by the current owner in 2004 and received Ferrari Classiche certification in 2020. This document confirms that the car no longer has its original engine, but it is said to have had an upgraded engine when it was delivered new to Michael Schumacher (a fact that has yet to be proven, however).
The engine of Michael Schumacher's Ferrari F355 GTS
During its current ownership, the F355 GTS has always been serviced by authorised Ferrari service centres and maintained at regular intervals. The most recent major service was carried out by FMA Ferrari in September 2024 and included the fitting of a new windscreen, new rear brake pads, timing belts, spark plugs, a new battery and restoration of the dashboard.
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