The Stolen Ferrari 375 Plus: A Legal Battle Spanning Decades
Read the full story on Modern Car Collector
Few cars in history have endured a journey as tumultuous as the Ferrari 375 Plus once owned by Karl Kleve. Designed by Pininfarina in 1954 for the World Sports Car Championship, only five of these iconic race cars were ever built. Yet, one of them—a charred chassis purchased by Kleve in 1958—spent nearly 30 years deteriorating in an open lot in Cincinnati before vanishing in the late 1980s. What followed was a saga of theft, deception, lawsuits, and an eventual record-breaking auction.
Kleve, a collector with an eye for rare cars, bought the damaged Ferrari for $2,500. But in the late 1980s, the vehicle disappeared from his property. It resurfaced across the Atlantic, eventually landing in the hands of Belgian race car driver and Ferrari collector Jacques Swaters. Swaters, believing he had rightfully acquired the car, spent years restoring it to its former glory.
When Kleve discovered his stolen Ferrari on display at Ferrari's Maranello museum in Italy, he launched a legal battle to reclaim his prized possession. In 1999, a disputed settlement was reached in which Swaters reportedly paid Kleve $625,000 for the car. However, Kleve claimed his agent had made the deal without his approval, sparking further litigation.
Following Kleve's death in 2003, his daughters—Katrina English and Karyl Kleve—continued to fight for the car. Meanwhile, a series of dubious legal maneuvers took place, with individuals such as Joseph Ford and Christopher Gardner inserting themselves into the case. Ford, later accused of fraud, managed to extract a significant sum from the Ferrari's eventual sale.
A crucial ruling came in 2013 when an English court determined that Florence Swaters, daughter of Jacques Swaters, held the title to the car before it went to auction. The decision paved the way for the Ferrari to be sold at the 2014 Goodwood Festival of Speed, where it fetched a staggering £10.7 million (approximately $16.3 million), with the final ownership going to Les Wexner, the billionaire owner of Victoria's Secret.
Despite the sale, legal battles persisted. English and Kleve claimed that if they had been properly represented, they would have received over $8 million from the sale. Instead, Kleve's estate received a fraction of that amount, while Ford walked away with more than $2.4 million.
Today, the Ferrari 375 Plus sits in Wexner's collection in Columbus, Ohio—just over 100 miles from where it sat abandoned for decades. From a stolen wreck to a multi-million-dollar legal dispute, the car's journey is a testament to how a rare Ferrari can spark decades of controversy, deception, and high-stakes courtroom drama.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Woman reported missing in St. Johns County
St. Johns County Sheriff's Office is looking for a woman who has been reported missing. Marite Leitane, 76, was last seen Sunday night. She went out for a bike ride and never returned, the sheriff's office said Monday morning. 'Leitane left behind her cell phone, debit card, and didn't take a water bottle with her,' a sheriff's office social media post states. 'She does not speak English.' Leitane was last seen wearing a pink shirt and black leggings. She was riding a white European race bike that has blue lettering. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call St. Johns County Sheriff's Office at (904) 824-8304, or email crimetips@ >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.


Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
Brutal 14th Century Revenge Murder Finally Solved
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A new investigation by a Cambridge University criminologist has revealed evidence of a 14th-century murder entangled in betrayal, scandal, and power struggles. Professor Manuel Eisner, head of the Medieval Murder Maps project at the University's Institute of Criminology uncovered what appears to be a revenge killing orchestrated by a noblewoman, following a scandal involving sex, crime and church politics. The killing of priest John Forde in 1337—his throat cut in broad daylight on a busy London street—has been brought to light 688 years later. "We are looking at a murder commissioned by a leading figure of the English aristocracy," said Eisner. "It is planned and cold-blooded, with a family member and close associates carrying it out, all of which suggests a revenge motive." Records indicate that Forde was once a lover and criminal accomplice of Ela Fitzpayne, an aristocrat punished publicly by the Church for adultery. A 1332 letter from Archbishop Simon Mepham accused her of affairs "with knights and others, single and married, and even with clerics in holy orders," including Forde, and ordered her to undergo a degrading punishment. Location of the murder of John Forde, taken from the Medieval Murder Maps. University of Cambridge's Institute of Criminology and the Historic Towns Trust. Location of the murder of John Forde, taken from the Medieval Murder Maps. University of Cambridge's Institute of Criminology and the Historic Towns Trust. Medieval Murder Maps. University of Cambridge's Institute of Criminology and the Historic Towns Trust That punishment included a barefoot walk of shame through Salisbury Cathedral—every fall, for seven years. "The archbishop imposed heavy, shameful public penance on Ela, which she seems not to have complied with, but may have sparked a thirst for vengeance," said Eisner. "Not least as John Forde appears to have escaped punishment by the church." The murder took place near St Paul's Cathedral on May 3, 1337. According to coroners' rolls, Forde was walking along Cheapside when fellow priest Hasculph Neville distracted him "with pleasant conversation." Suddenly, four men attacked: Hugh Lovell, Ela Fitzpayne's brother, slit Forde's throat with a 12-inch dagger while Hugh Colne and John Strong, both recently in Fitzpayne's service, stabbed him in the belly. "Despite naming the killers and clear knowledge of the instigator, when it comes to pursuing the perpetrators the jury turn a blind eye," said Eisner. "A household of the highest nobility, and apparently no one knows where they are to bring them to trial. They claim Ela's brother has no belongings to confiscate. All implausible. This was typical of the class-based justice of the day." Only Colne was eventually indicted and imprisoned, five years later. Image of the Archbishop of Canterbury's letters to the Bishop of Winchester on the subject of Ela Fitzpayne, from the register of John de Stratford. Reproduced with permission of Hampshire Archives and Hampshire County Council. Image of the Archbishop of Canterbury's letters to the Bishop of Winchester on the subject of Ela Fitzpayne, from the register of John de Stratford. Reproduced with permission of Hampshire Archives and Hampshire County Council. Register of John de Stratford. Reproduced with permission of Hampshire Archives and Hampshire County Council. The case is one of hundreds in the Medieval Murder Maps database, which uses coroners' rolls to track real cases of unnatural death in 14th-century England—now mapped across cities like London, Oxford, and York. Forde's case was unusual: it had 33 jurors—"one of the highest in all murders mapped by the project," said Eisner. The area of Westcheap, where Forde died, was "London's most prominent medieval homicide 'hotspot,'" featuring markets, guilds, and frequent violence, Eisner explained. He added: "As a setting for public rituals of punishment, this appears to have included extrajudicial killings." A full account of the case, with digitized records and coroner reports, is now available on the University's website. An academic paper detailing the case appears in the Criminal Law Forum, and a podcast series explores Forde's murder and other medieval cases. "Taken together, these records suggest a tale of shakedowns, sex and vengeance that expose tensions between the church and England's elites, culminating in a mafia-style assassination of a fallen man of god by a gang of medieval hitmen," said Eisner. Newsweek reached out to Professor Manuel Eisner via Cambridge University for comment. Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about criminology? Let us know via science@ Reference Eisner, M., Brown, S. E., Eisner, N., & Eisner, R. S. (2025). Spatial dynamics of homicide in medieval English cities: the Medieval Murder Map project. Criminal Law Forum.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
6 F1 storylines for the Canadian Grand Prix
After a much-needed break for the grid, Formula 1 is back this week with the Canadian Grand Prix. And there is much to discuss. From some fascinating fights shaping up throughout the standings, to one driver who is on the cusp of a suspension, and another who may be forced to miss his home race due to injury, there are no shortage of storylines. Advertisement Let's dive into the major talking points for the Canadian Grand Prix. Checking in on the F1 title races With the latest triple-header in the rear-view mirror, it is time to check in on both title races. The Spanish Grand Prix offered the latest twist to a fascinating F1 Drivers' Championship fight. Lando Norris' win in the Monaco Grand Prix pulled him to within just three points of teammate Oscar Piastri atop the standings, but Piastri's command performance in Barcelona pushed that gap back to ten points, as he finished up front ahead of Norris as McLaren locked out the front row. Perhaps more intriguing is what happened behind them. As the grid arrived in Barcelona Max Verstappen was just off the pace, only 25 points behind Piastri and 23 points behind Norris. But as we will discuss in a moment, Verstappen's tenth-place finish in Barcelona — coupled with the one-two performance from the McLaren duo — dropped him further away from the front. As the grid heads to Montreal Verstappen sits 39 points behind Norris and 49 points behind Piastri. Advertisement And with George Russell only 26 points behind Verstappen, the gap is closing up behind him too. As for the Constructors' Championship race, McLaren remains the class of the field, as the Woking-based team has 362 points on the season, putting them 197 points clear of the team in second. That team? Ferrari. After all the consternation in recent weeks about the Scuderia a third-place finish from Charles Leclerc and a sixth-place result from Lewis Hamilton pushed Ferrari into P2, six points clear of Mercedes and 22 points clear of Red Bull. There is a long way to go until trophies are handed out, but the fights at the front are fascinating indeed. Whither Lance Stroll? In the hours leading up to the Spanish Grand Prix, word broke that Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll would be withdrawing from the race, citing pain in his hands and wrist. Stroll underwent surgery ahead of the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix after a cycling accident during pre-season training, and made a stunning return to the grid for the first race of the season, where he finished sixth. Advertisement However, his status for this week, his home race, is in doubt. Mike Krack, the team's Chief Trackside Officer, relayed that 'Plan A' is for Stroll to be in the AMR25 this week. But Krack conceded that much is up in the air before the teams head to Montreal. 'At the moment, it's really difficult to tell you how it's going to go, and what is going to happen in the next days, but we will find out,' Krack said to the official F1 website. And if Stroll cannot race this weekend, there are further complications. Reserve drivers Felipe Drugovich and Stoffel Vandoorne are on standby, but both are slated to drive in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which conflicts with the Canadian Grand Prix. Jak Crawford, who drives in F2 and is part of Aston Martin's driver development program, currently lacks the requisite points on his FIA Super License. Advertisement 'It is quite simple, the 'Plan A' is to have Lance in the car – that is the 'Plan A', and that is what we are working to,' said Krack. 'If the 'Plan A' does not work, then we need to pull 'Plan B'. 'Obviously we always knew that Le Mans was going to happen, so we also had plans in place that if we need a driver that is doing Le Mans, we will bring him, but at the moment this is not the only question,' added Krack. 'We wait what the next days are bringing, and then we take a decision.' Max Verstappen on the cusp of an unexpected vacation F1's latest triple-header ended with a penalty, putting the defending Drivers' Champion on the precipice of a one-race penalty ban. Advertisement Max Verstappen's incident with George Russell in the closing stages of the Spanish Grand Prix resulted in not just a ten-second penalty from the race stewards for the Red Bull driver (which dropped him to P10) but a three-point penalty on his FIA Super License. That increased Verstappen's current penalty tally to 11 points, putting him one point shy of a one-race suspension. Complicating matters is the fact that the next points to expire on Verstappen's Super License, the two he received for an incident with Lando Norris at last year's Austrian Grand Prix, do not expire until the end of the month. That means Verstappen has to navigate both the Canadian Grand Prix this week, and the Austrian Grand Prix later this month, without incident. All eyes on Red Bull's second seat ... again Verstappen standing on the precipice of a one-race suspension is not the only major storyline at Red Bull. Advertisement It is time to talk about the second seat ... again. Yuki Tsunoda, tapped by the team as a replacement for Liam Lawson after just two races this year, has not delivered the kind of results Red Bull is hoping for out of their second seat. Tsunoda has banked just seven points since his promotion to the senior team, a mark that has seen drivers such as Alexander Albon, Carlos Sainz Jr., Nico Hülkenberg, Esteban Ocon and yes, Isack Hadjar, outscore him over that stretch. Now there are rumblings that Hadjar could be the next driver to earn a promotion to Red Bull. 'There is one driver who Racing Bulls think has a very similar style to Max Verstappen. I don't think he's ready yet. But is Isaac Hadjar the answer to their problems?' asked Sky Sports F1's David Croft in recent days. 'If Hadjar is the closest thing to Max Verstappen, then he has the easier task of adapting to that car, which has been designed and developed more to Max's liking. Advertisement 'Red Bull say because Sergio Perez was a bit reluctant in coming forward to give feedback last year, so therefore, the feedback was all Max's, therefore, the car kind of went in a Max direction.' The issue of the second seat at Red Bull has lingered since Daniel Ricciardo departed from the team after the 2018 season, and now even Verstappen is wondering why this remains a problem for the team. 'Yuki isn't a pancake. This [with the 2nd Red Bull driver] has been going on for a long time,' said Verstappen at the Spanish Grand Prix. 'Maybe that's a sign. Of what? That you can decide yourself.' Then there are the rumors that the team is looking for approval for 17-year-old Arvid Lindblad to receive an FIA Super License. Lindblad, who sits third in the F2 Drivers' Championship standings and is coming off a win in the F2 Feature Race at the Spanish Grand Prix, is considered one of the sport's brightest young talents. But as he is yet to turn 18, he would need approval from the FIA to drive in F1. Advertisement He turns 18 in August. Might this be a backstop should Verstappen receive a penalty as outlined above? Consideration for another mid-season move? Or just more fodder for people like me? Is the front-wing saga settled? Entering the Spanish Grand Prix, front wings were the talk of the paddock. With the sport's governing body instituting stricter testing on front wings, to cut down on the 'flexi-wing' saga that dominated the conversation the past several months, there was rampant speculation that the new requirements would shake up the pecking order, and perhaps knock McLaren down a bit. The corresponding front-row lockout from Piastri and Norris ended that speculation, at least for now. Advertisement Is the 'flexi-wing' saga truly over, or does Montreal spring a surprise? Has a new contender emerged in the midfield fight? Williams expected a difficult week in Barcelona, and those premonitions were proven correct as the team endured their first point-less race week since the Bahrain Grand Prix. Still, they sit comfortably in fifth place in the Constructors' Championship race with 54 points, 26 points clear of Visa Cash App Racing Bulls. Haas sits seventh in the table with 26 points, just two behind the tally of VCARB. But did a new contender emerge in Barcelona? Nico Hülkenberg's stunning fifth-place finish in the Spanish Grand Prix, which included an overtake of Lewis Hamilton on the penultimate lap, delivered ten massive points for Sauber, propelling them up to eighth in the standings. Despite entering the Spanish Grand Prix sitting tenth in the Constructors' Championship, that result brought their season tally to 16, tying them with Aston Martin but giving Sauber the tiebreaker edge. Can Sauber keep that momentum going in Montreal?