10 Times Automakers Sued Their Customers
When thinking of lawsuits in the automotive world, the most frequent scenario is that of customers suing automakers. Whether it’s a defective part, a mismanaged recall, or rodent-attracting wire insulation, there have been plenty of reasons why customers have been unhappy with the companies building their cars over the decades. The reverse scenario, however, happens a lot less often, and is more often than not limited to the world of ultra-high-end cars.
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7 Times Ferrari Filed Lawsuits Against Its Own Fans
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Ferrari is the biggest culprit by far, having built a reputation for being lawsuit-happy against customers who displease it; not treating your Ferrari with the amount of respect it deserves is a good way to trigger legal action from Maranello. However, Ferrari isn’t the only automaker out there who has sued its own customers (or, in some cases, private individuals who simply committed the cardinal sin of building a backyard replica); here are ten such cases, coming from a range of different car brands.
The list includes ten cases of automakers suing customers or private individuals, listed in no particular order.
1 John Cena’s Ford GT
The next person on the list who has fallen foul of a car company’s legal requirements is none other than wrestling legend John Cena. Only a few months after adding a 2017 Ford GT to his car collection, he sold it and made a profit; according to the Blue Oval, he had signed a contract at the moment of purchase stating he was not allowed to sell the car for a minimum period of two years. Cena, however, maintained that the final version of the contract he signed did not include the no-resale clause. In the end, the situation was resolved with an out-of-court settlement for an undisclosed amount.
2 Deadmau5’s Ferrari 458
In 2014, Canadian DJ and electronic music producer Joel Thomas Zimmerman found out for himself how justified Ferrari’s litigious reputation was. His crime? Making cosmetic modifications to his 458 Italia, with a theme based on the “Nyan cat” meme that was ubiquitous on the internet around that time.
The final creation was dubbed the “Purrari”, sporting modifications included a custom rainbow wrap, new floor mats, new license plates, and the replacement of the Prancing Horse with a cat, which especially displeased Ferrari’s legal team. Though he was forced to reverse the modifications, Deadmau5 was undeterred, selling the Ferrari and buying a Lamborghini “Purracan” back in 2015 that got the exact same treatment without attracting a lawsuit.
3 Philipp Plein’s Ferrari 812 Superfast
Fashion designer Philipp Plein landed in hot water with Ferrari due to his use of his own 812 Superfast in his brand’s promotional images. Plenty of Ferraris had featured in photoshoots related to his brand, surrounded by products and scantily-clad models posing near the cars. The final straw was an Instagram post that depicted products from Plein’s label placed on his 812 Superfast, with the Ferrari logo highly visible in the shot.
Ferrari sued on the grounds of not wanting to be associated with “a lifestyle totally inconsistent with its brand perception”; Plein was forced to pay around $1.3 million in damages, as well as around $28,300 in legal fees, after refusing to take the pictures down.
4 Lamborghini vs. Gold Coast Exotics
In this case, the subject of the lawsuit was a dealer: Illinois-based Gold Coast Exotics has gotten itself on Lamborghini’s wrong side after a “shadow program” centered around selling cars to flippers was brought to light. While the dealer was reporting to the automaker that Lamborghini models were being sold to legitimate customers, in reality the vehicles were going to known re-sellers, as well as people associated with criminal activity. The dealership obtained millions of dollars in bonuses in the process. Lamborghini is now accusing Gold Coast Exotics’ president, as well as one other employee, of committing fraud.
5 Jean Blaton’s Ferrari F40 Barchetta
This Ferrari is no longer a Ferrari; not officially, anyway. One of 19 F40 IMSA LM units produced, it was bought by racing driver Jean Blaton after being retired from racing at the end of the ’90s. Blaton enlisted Michelotto, a long-time partner of Ferrari’s, to modify the car: the roof was chopped off, a tubular steel cage was added, and several changes were made to the suspension and exhaust system. The finished car was later raced by Blaton under the alias “Jean Beurlys”.
The car’s modification led Ferrari to send a cease-and-desist letter ordering Blaton to remove the brand’s emblems and all Ferrari-related markings from the car. The “F40 Barchetta” still lives, but is no longer recognized by the company as one of its products.
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6 Mansory “Mock FXX-K” Ferrari 488
German tuning firm Mansory is known for its loud, sometimes garish creations, based on all sorts of high-end models, from the Bentley Bentayga to the Ford GT. This time, however, they flew a little too close to the sun, and created something that angered the Prancing Horse’s legal department.
Mansory built a body kit for the Ferrari 488 GTB (a sports car in the $200,000 range) that makes it resemble the FXX-K (the multi-million-dollar, track-oriented version of the LaFerrari hypercar). Ferrari, observing that several unique elements of the FXX-K’s design had been blatantly ripped off, filed a lawsuit and won: Mansory was forced to stop building and selling this particular body kit.
7 Ford Vs. Vintage Broncos
One of the most recent cases involves Ford and a small restoration company with a very unique product. Vintage Broncos, as the name suggests, is a Georgia-based firm that takes a modern Ford Bronco and modifies it to give it the look of a classic Bronco.
Aside from the obvious issue (the premise of installing the body of a vintage Bronco over the chassis of a 2024 model doesn’t exactly have Ford thrilled), the Blue Oval is also unhappy about the fact that Vintage Bronco is, apparently, using the Ford name and logo without a licence.
8 “Miami Vice” Ferrari Daytona Replica
This replica has had a long and convoluted story, from TV screens to eBay and nearly to the crusher. When filming the TV show Miami Vice, producers opted for a replica of a Ferrari Daytona rather than a real one, due to budget constraints. The replica was built using a Chevrolet Corvette C3 as a base, and quickly attracted Ferrari’s attention: the company sued McBurnie, the coachbuilder responsible for the faux Daytona, and later gave the production team two real Testarossas to use in the third season.
Years later, the Daytona replica surfaced again: this time, it was for sale in the Netherlands through an online advert. Ferrari attempted to have the car destroyed, but after the owner successfully proved there were too many differences between the replica and the original to constitute a copyright violation, he was allowed to keep his car. The Ferrari emblems, however, still had to be removed.
9 Karl Magnusson’s Jaguar C-Type Replica
Another case related to an unauthorized replica, and a very strange one at that. This time we are talking about Jaguar, and one dedicated Jaguar enthusiast whose creativity backfired on him. Around a decade ago, Karl Magnusson decided to build a replica of the Jaguar C-Type in his backyard in Gothenburg, Sweden; he received praise from the company’s own senior management, who invited him to give a talk at Jaguar Land Rover Classic’s UK headquarters.
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For the following two years, the project carried on with ongoing communication between Magnussen and the company; in 2018, however, Jaguar seemingly had a change of heart, and decided to sue. Magnussen lost, and was forced to sell the rest of his car collection to fund legal costs. This comes as a radical change from the previous position adopted by Jaguar, which had supported replicas and even built their own. Perhaps this is the reason behind the change of heart: it is possible Jaguar did not want competition for its own professionally-built replicas.
10 Ferrari Purosangue Owner
Another flipping-related lawsuit arrived only a few weeks ago, with Ferrari’s new SUV, the Purosangue, being at the center of it all. Customer Todd Carlson recently bought a Purosangue from a Houston-based dealership and sold it shortly afterward, making a profit for himself and without offering the dealership first dibs.
Ferrari alleges that, when purchasing the Purosangue, Carlson had signed a contract obliging him to give the dealer first refusal if he decided to sell the car within a year of purchase. The agreement specifies that the practice of “flipping” is considered harmful to the brand’s image.
Sources:
TechStory, Monochrome Watches, Vintage Broncos, Porter Pres.
