We’ve all heard wild stories of people trying to sell others Bolex watches and Mike running shoes. But a fake Ferrari? A few have actually been spotted around before, and this one is one of them. It is on exhibit in Brussels for an awareness campaign against pirated goods. The vehicle tries to mimic a 1967 Ferrari P4 so rare that even people at Ferrari don’t own one.
How it surfaced in Thailand is no mystery. Apparently a backstreet factory exists where car like the P4 can be made to order and shipped out to customers from around the world. This one, intercepted by Thai police, was destined for a buyer in Europe, but it’s not clear yet if the potential buyer is also being sought by the long arm of the law.
The Authentics Foundation, which is using the exhibition to highlight the problem of fake goods, says these days just about anything can be faked, not just headaches. Speaking of headaches, according to the AF, 80 percent of all pharmaceuticals in Nigeria are non-authentic.
President of the Foundation Timothy P Trainer says: "It has got more complicated because now counterfeiters are into everything. Twenty years ago they were more into luxury brands and so on.
Today, they are into electronics, they are into medicine, they are into food."
Echoing Trainer’s sentiments is EU commission president, Jose Manuel Barroso: "Counterfeiting now takes place on an industrial scale. It has become an extremely profitable business, generating income that can compete with narcotics and weapons trafficking, but at much lower risk ... The days when fake goods meant shifty men with a suitcase full of Rolexes are over."
Fake Ferrari Stars in Anti-Piracy Show
Republica / Fake Ferraris
Authentically Made in Thailand
By Thami Masemola
March 11, 2008 7:11 PM
Filed Under: European, General, Industry
Comments
JohnnyG
March 11, 2008 8:19 PM
Hyundai does the same thing...maybe they did this one.
ck314
March 11, 2008 7:30 PM
Hilarious. And where's the picture of that fake P4? This is simply a very bad copy of the 308/328 GTB, plus 360 Modena and Diablo mouldings.
joelynn
March 11, 2008 8:16 PM
yeah, where is the P4? And replica kit cars that imitate ferraris have been around for yonks
dmanero
March 11, 2008 9:56 PM
I confused, is it illegal to purchase a "kit" shell to make it appear to be a exotic car (eg. lambo or ferrari). I know a number of shops in the states and europe that allow you to purchase a full kit to fit on a MR2.
ck314
March 11, 2008 11:02 PM
When you legally buy a replica you're aware of it, but here the crooks were trying to sell them as authentic through ebay or w/e, hence a fraud.
joelynn
March 11, 2008 9:04 PM
No, I don't think so, because they are always badged and sold under a different name- much like the chinese 'fakes'
dmanero
March 11, 2008 10:18 PM
But then why confiscate the "p4" look alike. Most kit cars come with the badges and emblems and any hardware to finish the look. so then why are they making such a big deal of this.
_M7_
March 11, 2008 10:23 PM
ajajajajaj .....thats right....hyundai and those other chinese cars do the same ...they made mercedes and bmw mixes in one car XD
m555david
March 11, 2008 10:28 PM
they have kits for diablo's, i think because lambo has never really fought them in court. but back in 1996 one company actually made a ferrari kit with fiero under it and ferrari lashed out and made it almost impossible to have a kit car resemble them.
dmanero
March 11, 2008 10:42 PM
I wouldn't say impossable because I seen a few companies where you can have you car redesigned with kit panels for resmble a f430, f40 and the Testorossa (incorrect spelling i know, sorry).
Either way I think I'd still rather buy the real deal, providing I could afford it.
ck314
March 12, 2008 4:19 PM
what the heck, come on it was just a cheap video... no one's gonna spend 50-60K on a peugeot based fake ferrari!!
jstumbo
March 13, 2008 8:32 AM
The VWs in China are not fake. There is a joint venture between VW and a Chinese company in Shanghai that makes them. Another with General Moters, another with Honda, and various other car companies.
kevoluetion
March 12, 2008 2:54 AM
How can you be sure that those are authentic footages though? If thats real, thats amazing in a bad way. Im sure it will expose itself if someone wanted to drag race it at the lights lol! And im also sick of fake VWs you see in China, nearly everything u see there are fake.
ck314
March 12, 2008 2:25 AM
were it a cpl cms lower the illusion would still be greater... at 1st sight and from a distance some details such as the windshield, side mirrors, or wheel size betray it, but for the average joe this is a "pure" ferrari, no doubt lol too bad the interior is so crappy by comparison
Schizo0223
March 12, 2008 6:35 AM
So...should Ferrari owners look out for shady repair shops using fake Ferrari panels when they go in for repair??? Doesn't sound too pleasing.
catch22
March 12, 2008 2:34 PM
http://www.extreme-sportscars.com/360/home_360.htm
This company is producing exact copies of F355 and F360. And with all the logos, prancing horse etc. So would you consider this one as imitation or what?
4rings
March 12, 2008 8:40 PM
WOW! Hahaha. The person who pays for that old "Perrapi" Pontiac Fiero surely knows this. A POS 80s GM with 80s GM quality and built by a backalley mechanic with an endless supply of Bondo? If someone cant see that, then they deserve what they paid for. You cant tell me that a Ferrari enthusiast will buy that and think he's getting a Ferrari. Anyone who looks to buy rare & expensive cars, is also someone who knows the history, how many were made, etc. They would also know where & how to get what they are looking for. These fake Ferraris have been around for a long time anyway. The original "Miami Vice" tv show used a fake Ferrari Daytona based on a 70s Corvette. Ferrari started going after fakes, and then they started using a real Testarossa for the show. Just where is the junk yard that has all these Fieros laying around for them to import to Thailand? lol
Schizo0223
March 13, 2008 7:50 AM
So it was a Fiero interior in the shot. Man just looking at the picture depressed me. Horrible.
P4Replica
March 14, 2008 7:02 PM
The car that was shown at the 'Fakes Co$t More' expo in Brussels on Monday (10th March) was not 'made in Thailand'. It was a pretty ropey looking example of a (lee) Noble P4 replica, built in the UK, from a UK kit available between 1986 and 1992. Trust me on this. I run the worldwide register for these things. The 'Authentics Foundation' who organised this expo have managed to obtain one of these cars, and are falsely mis-describing the car as 'made in Thailand' in their efforts to gain more publicity for their global anti-counterfeiting campaign. Unfortunately the picked the wrong car to do it with, and I will be making every effort to make the public aware of this deception.
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