Ferrari collector reports 28 cars stolen — to the Internet

Having your car stolen ranks as a traumatic experience no matter whether it's a Vanquish or a Vega. So it's hard to imagine how someone can have 28 cars go missing — including at least three classic Ferraris worth millions of dollars. Yet that's what one collector has alleged in a video interview that only raises more questions than it answers.

California Ferrari enthusiast and filmmaker Stephen Mitchell shot this interview with Ferrari collector John Andrews, who says his collection of vehicles was systematically looted from his 1.5-acre ranch and barn over a period of several years, with the thieves taking not just vehicles but titles as well. Among the missing according to Andrews: a 1965 Ferrari GT 250 Lusso, a 1954 Ferrari 330 America and a 1965 Ferrari GTB 6C, similar to the photo above, that was once owned by Beach Boys' founder Brian Wilson. Andrews then lists some two dozen other classics, from a '32 Ford to a '55 Chevy.

In a posting on two Ferrari owner chat sites, Mitchell says "John's cars are being sold, however, by someone who has a book of names and numbers of people who are known to be able to afford such cars," and calls on other Ferrari owners to help ferret out the criminals.

But the 30-minute interview of Andrews by Mitchell has left the Ferrari finders flummoxed. Like automotive genealogy, Ferrari owners keep close track of who owns which classic model, and one has already deemed the story implausible, saying the cars mentioned by Andrews were sold without incident many years ago and that Andrews just has "seller's remorse."

Andrews isn't able to provide a clear timeline of the thefts, which appear to have taken place over several years, nor explain how someone could not notice millions of dollars of machinery walking off their property. Without the titles, Andrews says he can't prove ownership to authorities, and Mitchell adds that a night watchman was fired by Andrews shortly before his home was destroyed in an arson fire, only adding to the alleged crimes.

Mitchell says Andrews "has always been his own man with priorities very different from yours or mine. That such a story could happen to him, sadly, makes perfect sense to me." Based on what it's seen so far, the close-knit world of classic Ferrari owners will need more convincing.