A twenty-six year old from Asti was ‘caught’ driving a fake car. In fact, the Guardia di Finanza has seized the vehicle which – to the not too expert eye – could have appeared to be a model of the Prancing Horse brand. The boy had implemented a real complete modification of a model originally purchased as the Toyota MR2. Let’s go to the discovery of this incredible event that happened in Piedmont. Here are all the details on this case.
You never get used to crazy news. But what happened in Asti is really something hard to believe. A 26 year old boyindeed, it was stopped and reported by the Guardia di Finanza of the Provincial Command of Asti for possession of a car passed off as a Ferrari. It had actually been modified from a totally different model. But what exactly happened?
The boy had modified one Toyota MR2 Coupe previously purchased and had made it perfectly similar – in appearance – to a well-known and coveted model of Ferrari. We refer to the model F430 of the Prancing Horse, produced between 2004 and 2009.
Outwardly the car had become totally equal to the Ferrari model, but under the body the engine was that of the Toyota MR2 Coupè. A choice that cost the boy from Asti dearly. In fact, he was reported to the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Asti for having used, without permits and licenses, the emblems and trademarks registered by Ferrari.
But how had the young man done the forgery? Is this the first similar case in Italy? Here are all the details.
Transform a Toyota model car into a Ferrari F430: this is the incredible illegal move of a 26-year-old
The forged vehicle was seized by the Guardia di Finanza. The young man was stopped following a normal roadside check by the Fiamme Gialle. The officers noticed the anomaly and promptly blocked the 26-year-old and seized the vehicle. But how did he work to ‘transform’ the Toyota model into a Ferrari F430? Here’s everything you need to know about this illegal move.
Badges, bonnet, wheel arches, steering wheel and all the other external aspects had been modified and made perfectly equal to those of a real Ferrari F430. A little jewel which, however, was only such in appearance and, precisely, on the outside. In reality, the internal components were those of a normal Toyota MR2 Coupe.
The young man had operated the counterfeit through a real one transformation kits very expensive – approximately 20 thousand euros. The agents became aware of the scam from some anomalous documents present. The experts, who arrived on site after checking the vehicle – gave their definitive opinion: the vehicle was indeed counterfeit.
The transformation kit guaranteed enviable results from an aesthetic point of view. As obvious as it is, however, the car did not meet the regular safety standards designed by Ferrari. Furthermore, appropriating emblems of other cars is a move considered totally illegal.
First case of forgery of a Ferrari in Italy?
It is by no means the first case of a fake car passed off as a Ferrari in our country. In fact, some people in possession of counterfeit vehicles had already been arrested in the past. In 2016, for example, in Modena a man was caught wanting to register a Ferrari after using a conversion kit very similar to the one used by the boy from Asti. Even then, the modified car had been one Toyota MR2.
Last year, finally, a fake racing Ferrari was discovered in La Spezia. The shell was the same as that of the Ferrari SF90 and the owner was in the process of selling it to a dealer located in Tuscany.
