The long-abandoned Ferrari F40 that belonged to former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s infamous son Uday has been discovered in northern Iraq following a week-long search.
Just over a week ago, YouTuber named Ratarossa put a bounty on the Italian supercar and established a mission to hunt for the former property of Uday Hussein, famously known for his extravagant lifestyle and his love for his fleet of exotic cars before his death in the US invasion of 2003. Ratarossa’s hope was to find the deserted car – previously pictured by others in Iraq with no known location – and to transport it to the UK in order to repair it.
Though the task seemed like an impossible one, there emerged a number of leads – along with the help of Chris “Big Chris” Smith from the car-refurbishment company Gas Monkey Garage which has its own YouTube channel – who managed to identify the location’s surroundings and tracked it down to the city of Erbil, the northern capital of Iraqi Kurdistan.
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Big Chris had already reportedly found the car back in 2016 in a previous trip to Iraq, but told Ratarossa that it was covered in dust and sand and was missing essential components that render it unable to start. This recent search found that the car remains in that state, and the initial deal to transport it to the UK and repair it has also been abandoned due to the current owner’s selling price of $1,150,000 and the fact that the logistics in transporting it and carrying out the task would be too complex and costly in comparison to the benefits of doing so.
The supercar, which has only recorded 2,300 miles, was however moved to a more secure garage.
Uday’s sister, Raghad, who lives in Jordan, took to Twitter threatening to sue anyone who owns her family’s personal property.
“We will prosecute everyone who has acquired the family’s personal property, this and other things,” she threatened, adding that “We warn others not to engage in these matters for any reason because they will be subject to legal accountability.”
سنقاضي كل من استحوذ على ممتلكات العائلة الشخصية،، هذه وغيرها. وننبه الاخرين الى عدم الانخراط في هذه الامور لاي سبب لانهم سيتعرضون للمسائلة القانونية.#رغد_صدام_حسين pic.twitter.com/uecGE5R6ry
— رغد صدام حسين (@RghadSaddam) May 3, 2020