If, like many, you were afflicted at a young age with the lifelong, incurable illness of being into cars, you may have fond memories of gluing together Airfix or Revell or Tamiya models, painting them just so, and having your own depictions of the hero cars tearing up the tarmac. However, what if you scaled one of those models up by a lot? This massive set of Ferrari F430 panels just sold on Bring A Trailer for $9,999, a price that actually seems quite fair for genuine Ferrari panels.
So, how big is this lot of parts? Well, from the hood to the roof, quarter panels, bumpers, skirts, doors, front clip, rear diffuser, and engine cover, it’s pretty much all here save for the mirrors. You know, the two parts that get broken off of every child’s diecast cars in short order. Sure, some of the parts are wrapped black, but most are Rosso Corsa — “resale red” for any Ferrari poster car. While we can ponder any number of schemes involving these panels, there’s one obstacle by the name of Laura, who’s an actual saint because her job is to make sure we don’t get sued. See, she’s our lawyer, and likely knows that Ferrari isn’t to be trifled with.
Setting legal minefields aside for a second, let’s talk logistical concerns. The Ferrari F430 has a wheelbase of 102.4 inches. You’d have to stretch a Fiero wheelbase (the Fierro is the most common donor for a “Fauxrarri” build — see below) by a full nine inches if you wanted it to match that of a Ferrari F430, stretch an SW20 Toyota MR2’s wheelbase by 7.9 inches, or stretch a 986 Porsche Boxster’s wheelbase by 7.2 inches to match things up. That’s a hard job requiring skilled fabrication.
Even if you did flirt with danger and and slap these F430 panels on a Pontiac Fiero, whatever you do, don’t sell it.
Let’s just say that Ferrari isn’t a huge fan of people selling non-Ferrari cars that look like Ferraris, or otherwise infringing on its trademarks. It even has a bounty program for stamping out counterfeits that begins with proper legalese.
The “Ferrari Anti-Counterfeiting Reward” Scheme (hereafter referred to as the “Scheme”) is designed to incentivise the identification of activities that infringe upon Ferrari S.p.A.’s trademarks. Rewards are offered to individuals who report potential trademark infringements. The Scheme is governed by the terms and conditions outlined in the rules on this page (hereafter referred to as the “Rules”). By submitting a report, each participant in the Scheme is deemed to have accepted these Rules.
Our excellent lawyer would also advise us not to write that snitches and talkers get stitches and walkers, but it’s worth noting that the rule of the streets likely won’t have much effect here. How many Charles LeClerc or Carlos Sainz Jr. fans would sell you out for a free shirt? Think about it for a second.
To keep our legal department happy, we cannot advise that you put these Ferrari panels on an existing car that isn’t an F430. However, look at it this way: At just less than $10,000, this is one of the cheapest ways to get a Ferrari collection in one fell swoop. Granted, it’s a collection of parts rather than a collection of cars, but they come from Ferrari and count as a collection nonetheless. For the price of a used Mitsubishi Mirage and with a little bending of the truth, you could claim to join the ranks of collectors like David Lee and Pierre Bardinon should these panels come up for sale again.
It’s not often these days that a Bring A Trailer listing actually requires you to bring a trailer, but this set of F430 panels really would make rolling up with an enclosed U-Haul trailer worthwhile. Hats off to whoever bought these for $9,999; let’s just hope that either they’re staying as parts, going on another Ferrari F430, or that Ferrari isn’t taking notice.
(Photo credits: Bring A Trailer)
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I remember in the early naughts seeing vendors hawking massive knockoff Tweety birds in the huge lines to return to San Diego. They looked exactly like anything Warner Brothers would have been making money on except this knockoff had a single yarn of hair on its head. According to our guide that was enough to keep the lawyers at bay.
Later my workplace hosted a mandatory seminar given by a very prominent patent attorney. He showed us examples of very minor changes, in come cases upgrades that companies used to blatantly rip off another companies products and sell it as their own. My favorite was an ultrasound machine that had its CRT replaced with a flat panel – exactly the same in every other regard except that screen and it was enough to pull the rug out from under the lawyers.
Which is why I’m kinda surprised Ferrari even has a foot to stand on here. By that ultrasound example the anti lawyer spray would be to simply keep the stock Fiero wheels and a mustache on the horse. Why is Ferrari any different than a Porsche or Ford for which kit cars are made that look and sound indistinguishable from authentic ones to the layperson?
Can we talk about how good of a word “scheme” is? So much better than program, or offer, or agreement.
You COULD do major surgery on a Fiero or an MR2, or you COULD shorten a C5 by 2 inches, then widen it by 2 inches, bolt those panels on, and bingo-bango-bongo, you’ve got a V8 supercar!
As for the article provided regarding when Ferrari sued various people here’s how I feel about them:
With all that said I do think Ferrari has a giant stick up its butt about a lot of things and they would do well to take an occasional chill pill. It’s one reason I treasure things like the GT40 that put Ferrari in its place.
I’m imagining all of the unrealistic scenarios that might exist in which the owner of a lovely F430 has their car written off, but all the body panels are still in mint condition and worth parting out.
As others have commented, how can they legally restrict you from using parts however you want? You aren’t making fake panels and trying to sell them as real, as long as a resulting vehicle didn’t claim to be a Ferrari, I struggle to see what legal basis there is to stop someone using them. Sure, they can file a frivolous lawsuit against you but anyone can do that for anything.
Ferrari can really stretch that “claim to be a Ferrari” part, if there’s a badge anywhere they’re likely to say it claims to be a real Ferrari. One would have to de-badge every panel to be safe.
Hmm but the panels are genuine and have factory applied badges. As long as you don’t attach a Ferrari badge to anything that didn’t have one, you should be fine. Especially if the result is clearly labeled as not a Ferrari and is essentially art.
If I make a robot out of a Xerox machine, and sell it as a robot, I’m not infringing on their trademark. If I put Xerox branding on a random robot, I am, unless it is clearly a parody.
Robot turds? 🙂
Yes, however if you take a different copier and put all the parts of a xerox machine around it in such a way that it looks exactly like a xerox, and if Xerox was extremely zealous about their image, they might have a case. Ferrari isn’t just worried about people selling fake Ferraris and infringing on them, they’re far more concerned about people seeing what they think is a Ferrari, but it’s actually a Fiero, and thinking Ferraris are shitboxes. They’ll do ANYTHING to protect their image, if even one person could look at it, think it’s a real Ferrari that’s slow and sound like a Buick 3.8L and decide never to buy one, they’ll build a case.
Oh yeah, I get that. I guess a better analogy would be if you bought boxes of Kleenex, used the tissues, and then refilled it with Kirkland brand tissues. Would you be infringing if you sold it and were very clear that you were selling Kirkland tissues in a Kleenex box?
I do think it’s an interesting thought experiment. What makes a particular car a particular car? I think most would agree that if you put a Buick 3.8L in a Ferrari, the car is still a Ferrari. Could they target you for that?
What if you sold Girl Scout Cookies in a Chips Ahoy bag?
Or Chips Ahoy in a Girl Scout Cookies box?
Asking for a friend.
I agree an engine-swapped Ferrari is still a Ferrari, I really have no idea where the line is, and I’d be afraid to try to toe it. Ferrari relies on that very fear to keep replicas at bay, they’ll try to strike down anything quickly and ruthlessly to set a precedent and discourage others from trying.
Clearly the solution is to use a supercharged Buick 3.8L that’s 240 horses of pure reliable power.
I’m witch Crypto on this. I don’t believe Ferrari is going after any fiero owners or similar fake copies. They are going after the shady Brazilian scams, and Asian market knockoffs.
You could post a sale of a Fiero and call it a Ferrari all you want, but the vin, sales paperwork, and plates will all say Fiero. It’s too small time for Ferrari to care about. The want to stop fakes that are sold and registered as Ferrari.
Putting this body on a different car is a slightly different case, but I could equate it to putting genuine Ferrari wheels on any other car. If you own the part it is yours to do with it as you see fit. The underlying car will still have a vin.
BTW, the rest of the car was turned into this
https://www.evo.co.uk/lancia/203930/mat-stratos-2021-review-lancias-iconic-stratos-reborn
A true hero would swap a Fiero body onto a Ferrari.
There’s a fine line between hero and heretic…
I’m as big a bargain hunter as the next guy. This is stealing another person’s work. Sure think of it as a big corporation but you are stealing the designers work. It’s like buying Chinese knockoffs it isn’t a victimless crime.
Ferrari manufactured these parts and sold them. Their interest in them should be over.
Making copies would be a different story.
I didn’t get that from the article. If real Ferrari why is lawyer concerned? I kind of got someone was using a 3d printer to make and sell these from a scale model. If I am wrong then no harm no foul but real Ferrari parts wouldn’t make an attorney anxious. However if they get paid by the hour….
All the parts came off this car
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2006-ferrari-f430-berlinetta-4/
Not to disagree that car looks great and selling for $100,000 the body panels sold for just under $10,000. I am missing something.
Also I saw nothing in the article about this.
They took a $100K car and turned it into a $500K car. I doubt they where worried about the panels and seats and the rest they sold 🙂
A your link showed a car available for $100,000. Where is all this other information you talk about. You would not make a good editor.
The other information comes from the BaT auction page that this article is about.
People have been swapping body panels from one kind of car to another for about as long as cars have been around. Someone putting Ferrari body panels on a different car is no different from someone putting a Camry body on something else or an El Camino body on a monster truck frame. As no as nobody is misrepresenting what is going on there should not be a problem. Intellectual property rights would only come into play if someone were using these as templates for counterfeit body panels or somehow misappropriating Ferrari intellectual property or pretending something is a Ferrari when it’s not. Otherwise, parts is parts.
If they are legally produced and sold no problem. The whole our lawyer is against any information produced for purchase seems like its illegal. Maybe you’re okay illegally using other people ideas. If so scumbag
For someone named Mr. Sarcastic you certainly don’t have seem to catch it very well. Do you think “snitches and talkers get stitches and walkers” was something the author actually ran by The Autopian’s legal representation before putting in this article?
OK, Looking at the close up of the fender? It needs to be cut and buffed to remove the orange peel. You’d expect original Ferrari parts would come cut and buffed already.
Having gone down a youtube detailing rabbit hole, Ferrari paint quality is ABYSMAL and features heavy orange peel, often inconsistency between panels and even runs sometimes. Legitimately harrowing stuff.
Better yet, put them on an ELR
I like the looks of the ELR just as it is. What I’d want to do, though, is turn it into a fast little sleeper build. I would hope some sort of tuned Ecotec might fit.
You could most definitely swap in a Cobalt SS Turbo drivetrain in one.