A FERRARI super fan has been sued by the automaker after recreating their iconic design from scratch.
The ongoing five year suit claims José Vitor Estevam Siqueira violated trademark law – turning his hobby into a financial nightmare.
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José, a dentist and resident in São Paulo, Brazil, created the replica Ferrari F-40 in his garage using parts bought from hardware stores.
At the time, José, a boyhood fan of the cars, said: “It was a childish, innocent dream, I didn’t imagine it could happen.
“I accepted it as a challenge for myself and started studying, investing time and money to make it happen,”
José started building the motor in 2017 out of metals purchased from stores.
He cut the sheets in a laboratory that is set up in the back of his house.
He then put his uncanny replica up for sale online for £10,939 (R$80,000) in 2018, sighting financial difficulties.
José tried to sell it after a suffering theft in the same year, reports claim.
The Italian company found the model during an internet search and reported the dentist for violating patent law.
The brand claims that the dentist created the prototype using the company’s intellectual property, in this case the car’s design, to obtain financial profit.
A seizure of the vehicle was requested, and five years later, they are still trying to obtain compensation.
Ferrari claimed they were seeking payment for loss of profits and material damages.
This is despite the replica never having actually been successfully sold.
The current amount of unpaid debt José owes is £5,811 (R$42,500).
Courts searched the dentist’s bank accounts and found £121 (R$887.74), which were frozen.
On November 8th, the Court converted the freezing of the amount into a seizure.
This means the dentist was forced to empty his bank account to pay Ferrari.
A COUNTER LAWSUIT
During José’s continuing court ordeal, he launched his own lawsuit claiming moral damages.
The Ferrari fanatic sued for £13,674 (R$100,000), which included his legal costs.
The lawsuit further stated that José’ had to undergo psychological treatment after his “good name” was allegedly smeared.
It was denied.
Ferrari says it has been conducting a thorough investigation into replicas and unauthorized use of the brand in Brazil.
The original F-40 was launched in 1987, and was the last Ferrari produced under the supervision of Enzo Ferrari, the brand’s founder.
The design has since gone on to reach an iconic status amongst car fans.
It is an extremely rare vehicle to purchase today.
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The price of the car varies, exceeding £692,000 (R$4 million).
There are just over a thousand examples of it on the market today.
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