Ferrari lost a race in Galicia to those who tune cars to look like Prancing Horse cars. A court in A Coruña has acquitted the head of an Arteixo dealership of an industrial property crime that Ferrari accused him of owning a Ford Cougar that had been modified inside and out to look like an F430 Scuderia, which had previously been used emblems and signs of the Italian brand, kilos of putty, elements of other brands and also handmade pieces. The court assumes that there was no crime because “even to the uninformed it is clear that it is not a Ferrari” and because it was not intended for sale and there was no violation of competition rules. “Will the Ferrari brand lose sales of its exclusive vehicles as a result of a used car salesman driving through Arteixo in a Ford Cougar that looks like a Ferrari?” asks the judge. The Italian team is convinced of this and is therefore demanding a year in prison and 2.1 million in compensation.
The case is not insignificant for the renowned Italian company, which is one of the most counterfeited products of all kinds. In fact, identical cases of Cougars converted into Ferraris and at unique prices can be found on the networks. The car in question, very attractive like a Ferrari, was intercepted by the local police of Arteixo on October 22, 2018, a few days after it was acquired and converted by third parties and after it had been on the road for five years. The defendant stuck stickers from his company on it and announced the purchase in dealer networks: “Newly arrived toy. If you want to see it…”
Ferrari F430 GT.
The owner claimed he never thought he could pass the car off as a Ferrari, that he never thought of selling it, let alone as a Ferrari, and that the only thing it had were yellow Prancing Horse stickers , which he used it “exclusively as an administrative vehicle” and only for 12 days. In fact, he claimed that his dealership only specialized in “low to mid-range cars” and that the Ferrari could actually hurt him in this used market.”
The judge is clear that if you don’t look closely the car looks like a Ferrari, but if you examine it more closely or just listen to the engine, you’ll see that it isn’t. “Even the emblems were of poor quality and the colors of the flag were different, which was not Italian but Chilean. There were also simulated parts that actually did not function properly, such as brake calipers and discs. Or the rearview mirrors that didn’t fold,” they say.
The Criminal Court No. 3 of A Coruña takes the view in its judgment (an appeal is still possible) that the behavior of the dealer owner, although not exemplary, was not criminal either, since he did not want to sell the car and did not do so myself need to know how strict it is. Ferrari in the registration and patent of all its drawings, designs, parts…
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The tenor of the judgment is reflected in the rhetorical questions that the judge writes in it: “Perhaps the use of a ‘tuned’ car (…) which is clearly visible to even the lowest expert that it is not a Ferrari, a violation.” the rules of the competition? Will the Ferrari brand lose sales of its exclusive vehicles because a used car salesman drives through Arteixo in a Ford Cougar that looks like a Ferrari? “Do we really want a prison sentence that also includes the payment of at least 2,100,000 euros for the reputational damage that the defendant caused to the brand’s image?”
For the judge, the car and its use “conform more to the principle of insignificance than to that of typicality, without the slightest hint of harm to consumer interests.”
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