VIN: Mob Boss Stefan Eriksson's Ferrari Enzo chassis 135564
History of chassis 135564
Enzo chassis 135564 was originally finished in Rosso Corsa with Nero seats. It was dispatched to Maranello Concessionaires in January 2004 and registered MD53 VSK on February 12th.
The car was one of two Enzos supplied to the executives of Gizmondo, a UK-based company that was developing a handheld gaming device. Both cars were purchased on finance secured from Royal Bank of Scotland.
135564 went to Stefan Eriksson and the black sister car (chassis 137331) to his fellow Swede and business partner, Carl Freer.
Stefan Erikkson was a mob boss from Uppsala who started work as an automotive bodyshop technician in the late 1970s. In the early 1980s, he was convicted of car theft and, a few years later, prosecuted for drugs and arms-related crimes.
By the early 1990s, Eriksson had established himself as leader of the Uppsala mafia. His gang was responsible for a spate of high profile narcotic, fraud and counterfeiting crimes.
Between 1993 and 1998, Eriksson spent another five years in jail which was half of a ten-year sentence. On this occasion, he and an accomplice had broken into a man’s home, committed an assault and then destroyed the property. The police had difficulty finding people who would testify and the chief witness later survived two bomb attacks.
After his release from jail, Eriksson and Freer worked together on the Gizmondo project. Hundreds of millions of dollars were raised for what was billed as a rival to handheld gaming systems from Nintendo and Sony.
The Gizmondo console was released in March 2005 amid a fanfare of extravagant promotion. This included a tie-up with the Jordan Formula 1 team and a spate of lavish celebrity-laden parties. Eriksson also contested that year’s Le Mans 24 Hours in a Gizmondo-backed Ferrari 360 GTC.
In August 2005, Eriksson relocated from the UK to California, but a few weeks later, serious financial irregularities were discovered that forced him and Freer to resign; between April and October, over $250m had gone missing from Gizmondo’s accounts. Soon afterwards, the company filed for bankruptcy with debts of $300m.
Around this time, Eriksson illegally exported five leased cars to the USA. They included the two Enzos and a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren.
However, in February 2006, the long arm of the law caught up with him.
While driving intoxicated along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, Eriksson crashed the red Enzo at over 160mph. 135564 was split in half behind the rear bulkhead.
Eriksson claimed to have been a passenger in the car at the time and that the driver, “Dietrich”, fled the scene in his friend’s SLR.
The police were unconvinced and, when Eriksson’s blood was found in the Enzo’s cockpit, they pressed ahead with a prosecution.
In April 2006, police raided Eriksson’s Bel Air home while he was preparing to leave the country. Eriksson was arrested on suspicion of embezzlement, grand theft auto, drunk driving, cocaine possession and weapons charges. Hit and run and driving without a license and insurance were also soon added to the charge sheet.
Eriksson accepted a plea bargain for three years in jail and subsequent deportation.
He was released in January 2008 and deported back to Sweden where he received a further 18 month sentence for extortion and aggravated assault.
As for chassis 135564, it was sent back to the Ferrari factory and rebuilt to as new condition using the original monocoque, original engine and a new body.
Several new features were added that had not originally been available. They included satellite navigation, a rear view camera, Bose stereo, power windows and a carbonfibre rear spoiler with Enzo Ferrari script. The colour was changed to Nero Daytona with Rosso leather seats.
In February 2016, chassis 135564 was sold by RM Sotheby’s at their Paris auction with 2500km on the clock.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: RM Sotheby’s - https://rmsothebys.com/
