Lonan3 Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 Times Article This is going to come as a very nasty shock to a number of testosterone-fuelled sports car drivers - especially those who love to boast about getting their roaring roadsters at a knockdown price. From handbags to ham, Italy has produced some of the finest goods - and counterfeits - on sale. Now police have broken a ring of talented mechanics who have turned down-at-heel cars into replicas of Ferrari sports cars for sale at rock bottom prices to gullible motorists. Officers have seized at least 14 counterfeit classics during the nationwide operation, and eight people are under investigation. The mechanics were “extremely able artisans” who turned the chassis of Pontiacs, Mercedes-Benz and Toyotas into credible fakes painted in the Ferrari characteristic blood red, according to Guido Geremia, the head of the Palermo unit of the Italian financial police that led the investigation. The unit seized 14 fake Ferrari Modena 360s, seven of which had already been sold with a further seven under construction. The cars were sold for as little as $30,000 (£15,000), far below the selling price of $142,000 when the model went out of production in 2004. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cret Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 [quote name='Lonan3' date='Feb 29 2008, 12:04 PM' post='305795' This is going to come as a very nasty shock to a number of testosterone-fuelled sports car drivers - especially those who love to boast about getting their roaring roadsters at a knockdown price. Surely not as it says that the buyers know they aren't real when they buy them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Sausages Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 Replicas have been around for ages. http://www.extreme-sportscars.com/ Hard to tell the difference unless you're in to cars. Didn't know they were illegal though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cret Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 Indeed - some cars that you see 'ferrari conversions' on (in fact all that I've seen) look appalling. Don't know that it's illegal to sell replicas if they are sold as replicas but if you're selling them as being the real deal it's fraud. Edit - just looked at that link and whilst it might be a bit sad pretending you really have a ferrari when you haven't (like sticking a "Turbo" badge on a 1L Fiesta), as cars themselves go they don't look that awful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Thriller Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 I spotted a pedal power Farraris with alloys in one of the papers today, I think they are around £1,500 .. Bargain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
localyokel Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 The police can't be investigating too carefully, they're selling them on e-bay. Want to turn a Peugeot 406 Coupe into a 360 Modena Fake 360 or a MK2 MR2 into a Murcielago? Fake lambo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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