There are stories that mix sportsmanship, legend and a pinch of black novel … Something that also happens in the motor world. One of them, of the most juicy, is the one that stars from the Black Ferrari 512 TR that Michael Jordan premiered in 1992, when the Bulls chained titles and Dorsal 23 was synonymous with omnipotence.
After fifteen years without a trace, the car has just reappeared and He has already taken trip to the Ferrari factory in Maranello (Italy) for a restoration to factory specifications that aims to revalue it in an impressive way.
On February 29, 1992, the Lake Forest Ferrari dealership, in Chicago, delivered Michael Jordan a 512 TR, a beast capable of delivering 428 hp of power, accelerating of 0-100 km/h in 4.8 seconds and with a peak speed thanks to its V12 engine.
A Ferrari in the play-offs
The player led him to Chicago Stadium before the fifth playoff game against the Knicks, wearing the “M-Air-J” registration three years later, The star sold it to businessman Chris Gardneron which the movie “In Search of Happiness” is based, starring Will Smith, Who changed the plaque for an ironic “not MJ” and, with it, the narrative of the car.
Years later, in 2010, Gardner auctioned the Ferrari for just under 100,000 euros and, Since then, Deportivo seemed to vanished. What really happened is that the Californian collector, after being diagnosed with cancer, kept the car in his garage and stopped driving it.
Jordan's Ferrari was found in a garage without a single scratch / SPORT
That same garage would resist, miraculously intact, the fires that devastated the angels In January 2025. When the ashes settled, 512 TR remained covered with dust but complete, with its Kevlar and Aluminum panels without a single structural blow.
The American concessionaire We are curated, specializing in 'vintage' supercar, had a track and a half between cloned chassis and false frame numbers. John Temeria, his co -founder, acknowledges that It was “how to solve a mystery that persecuted us”. After confirming the authenticity, the team bought the car and decided to return it to Italy: the 512 TR already travels to Carrozzeria Zanasi, the official partner that paints the Ferrari Tailor Made inside the Maranello campus.
An integral restoration
The Restoration will be integral: From the inside in nero leather to 4.9 L FLAT-12 Motronic, passing through the Manual Center, with a budget that is around 200,000 euros.
The Curathed Plan is that, once restored, the car takes a tour to meet Gardner first and Michael Jordan himself. Then, it could be temporarily exhibited at the Ferrari Museum or in Pebble Beach before deciding whether to auction, with estimates already above one million euros, or it remains as a piece of permanent exposure in the Curated collection
It is not yet known if the former NBA star and the best player of all time I could bid for the car that at the time led to another ring with the bulls.
