The long-lost 1992 Ferrari 512 TR once owned by Michael Jordan, famous for its “M-AIR-J” license plate, was rediscovered in April 2025 by the Miami-based vintage supercar dealership CURATED. After vanishing from public view following an auction in 2010, the black-on-grigio supercar (chassis #091341) spent roughly 15 years hidden in a private garage in California.
The car was delivered to Michael Jordan on February 29, 1992, at his home in Highland Park, Illinois. It was finished in a rare “triple black” (black exterior, black interior) with the badges deleted for a stealthier look. The car became world-famous after a photographer captured Jordan stepping out of it before Game 5 of the 1992 NBA Playoffs against the Knicks. It wore the legendary personalized license plate: “M-AIR-J.”
In 1995, Jordan sold the Ferrari to Chris Gardner, the real-life inspiration for the film The Pursuit of Happyness. Gardner famously changed the plates to “NOT-MJ” to avoid being swarmed by fans. After Gardner sold the car at an auction in 2010 for roughly $100,000, it effectively vanished. For 15 years, car hunters and Curated (a Miami-based specialist dealership) followed dead ends, including false VINs and rumors that the car had been dismantled for parts.
In April 2025, the team at Curated finally tracked the car down to a garage in California. The story of its survival is almost as cinematic as Jordan’s career. The third owner had purchased the car in 2010 but was diagnosed with bone cancer shortly after. He stopped driving it, and the car sat untouched for 15 years.
In a near-miraculous turn of events, the car survived the California wildfires that leveled the owner’s entire neighborhood. While most of the street was destroyed, his house and the garage containing the Ferrari remained standing. When found, the car was covered in dust with curled leather and faded paint, but it was mechanically intact, retaining its original 4.9L flat-12 engine and gated manual shifter.
The car is currently undergoing a meticulous factory restoration (some reports suggest it was sent back to Maranello, Italy) to return it to its “M-AIR-J” 1992 specifications. The restoration project aims to reunite the car with its history, with plans to involve Jordan's original photographer and Chris Gardner once it is back on the road.




























