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On March 20, 1958, Hively sold the then-obsolescent Ferrari - onKimberly’s behalf - to fellow Cincinatti resident, Karl Kleve, for$2,500. Kleve collected old and interesting cars – and the occasionalaircraft – and enjoyed converting, uprating and generallytinkering with them. He may have planned to replace the Ferrari’s bigV12 engine with a stock V8, but time passed – other projects tookprecedence and ‘0384’ languished on a trailer, abandoned outdoorson one of Karl Kleve’s woodland properties, just outside Cincinatti.The old car’s V12 engine, at least three of the huge drum brakes, andthe engine cover, boot lid and doors had been removed, becomingburied for years amongst other detritus in one of his barns. Thecockpit area paneling suffered localized burn damage, said to havebeen caused by a cockpit wiring fire. Meanwhile the denuded chassisand main aluminium body sat outside, in sun, rain and snow…and itsrear end, especially, began to corrode…Around 1970 Karl Kleve sold the original V12 engine to GM engineerFred Leydorf. The years rolled on, with ‘The Fearsome Four-Nine’still languishing on Kleve’s woodland lot, a sapling tree first sproutingthen maturing through its empty engine bay.On or about January 13, 1989, this car was removed – unbidden -from Kleve’s land. It was taken down into Georgia, whence it was acquiredby a French buyer, one ‘Giles Christian’ for $50,000. As earlyas that February the frame and surviving attached body were shippedto Antwerp, Belgium, bound for Michael Kruch’s L’Exception Automobileconcern. In America Karl Kleve had reported the car stolen, andthe Belgian authorities impounded it to investigate. They concluded ithad been bought in good faith and that its European title was sound.In February 1990 the car was released and sold the following monthto veteran racer and Belgian Ferrari concessionaire Jacques Swatersin partnership with enthusiast Philippe Lancksweert.While litigation triggered by its extraction from Karl Kleve’s tenureensued within the US, ‘0384 AM’ has remained in Europe eversince. Messrs Swaters and Lanksweert had it gleamingly restored inModena, under the supervision of respected former factory Assistenzamanager Gaetano Florini. The corroded original body paneling wascarefully removed and preserved, rusted sections of the chassis –most notably at the long-exposed rear – were removed, replaced butalso kept and accompany the Lot now offered here. Respected localFerrari specialists Bachelli & Villa rebodied the car and a fresh V12engine to the correct spec was assembled and installed. Swatersshowed the car in Brussels and at Spa in 1992 and – most importantly- reached a settlement with Karl Kleve in the US.128 | Goodwood festival of speed