Fake Ferrari's - My Opinion

A few days ago, I was on carsales looking at Ferrari’s, dreaming, as you do, when I stumbled upon a 2005 model F430 finished in Rosso Corsa paint, for just $55000. I thought to myself, there’s no way; surely this person just forgot to put a zero on the end or something.

Anyway, I click on it, and start flicking through the images. The first thing I noticed was the Ferrari badge on the back was absent, then I thought, it does look a little bit high, and the wheels don’t quite fill the arches properly, I knew something was up. I kept flicking through the images, until I came to the interior. Sprung. This car clearly was not a Ferrari, although the fake Ferrari key, engine cover and even prancing horse logos on the dials would suggest otherwise.

I scrolled down and read the description, only to find that this car was in fact a Toyota MR2 with some fibreglass body panels made to look like a Ferrari. This man was selling a Ferrari replica. This is when I begun to ponder whether it’s ok to do something like this.

I guess the seller might suggest it’s a bit like those fake Rolex watches you buy in popular holiday destinations. You know, the ones that you shake when you want them to work, and have people question why you’re making flamboyant gestures with your left arm. Or Elvis impersonators who dress up in full costume and have the dance moves to match. I feel this is ok, a bit of harmless fun, because a fake Rolex only costs about $30 and will probably stop working the moment you land on home soil, and the Elvis impersonator provides an experience which would normally be unobtainable for anyone.

However the fake Ferrari incident is a different case all together, because I’m guessing this car has cost in excess of $30 to put together, and to be honest, I don’t think there’s any real shortage of Ferrari F430’s around. 

And it gets worse, because the Toyota MR2 on which this example is based, was actually a very good car, and I can’t imagine it’s been improved with the addition of much fibreglass and some fairly large wheel spacers. And as I continued to read the description of the car, somewhere in between where the seller rattles on about how much a real Ferrari costs, I read that this car has cost the bloke who built it over $100k. This man has spent $100k ruining a Toyota MR2. And for that, I think he must be an Idiot.

Take note of the fake key and dials. 

Now, understandably Ferrari’s are quite expensive, and I suspect the main reason this man has a fake is because he cannot afford a real one. But the sad part is he can (well not anymore I suspect) because after I continued to look at Ferrari’s I found you can actually buy a real Ferrari 360 (the F430’s predecessor) finished in Rosso Corsa paint, with an F1 gearbox and everything, for just over $100k.

This man could have had a real Ferrari sitting in his driveway, instead he’s stuck trying to sell a fake Ferrari (or ruined MR2, take your pick), I say good luck to him.

Needed a fake key, but couldn't justify the proper wheels?