How to Spot a Fake Ferrari
Italian police broke up a Ferrari counterfeiting business earlier this year, confiscating 22 cars, 14 of which had already been sold to luxury sportscar collectors. The fake Ferraris seized in Italy were used Pontiac Fieros which had been altered to pass for Ferrari Testarossas. The counterfeit industry has grown 1,000 percent in Europe between 1998 and 2004 according to EU Customs and spans beyond designer handbags, shoes, watches, and clothes. Before purchasing a luxury car, do you homework so you can distinguish a real Ferrari from a fake.
1) Who is selling the Ferrari? Do a little homework on who the seller is. Are they an authorized Ferrari dealer? If it is pre-owned, where did it come from? Check out the owner documents, service records, and paperwork. Most fake Ferraris are sold as pre-owned classic models from the 1960s-1980s.
2) Do not be fooled by the exterior. Most Ferrari fakes look the same from a distance- the same tail lights, the same fenders, also the exhaust is the same.
3) The interior of fake Ferraris lack the same quality of real Ferraris. Never buy a car without personally inspecting the car or having a knowledgeable expert inspect it for you. Look under the hood, fake Ferraris will have a different engine, frame, suspension, chassis, roof, hood, trunk, doors, and brakes. If you are not familiar with the famous Ferrari engine, stop by your local Ferrari dealership and become familiar with its features or go to Ferraris official website at www.FerrariUSA.com to locate your nearest authorized dealer.
4) Lastly, if the offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is. No one in their right mind is going to be selling a $300,000 car for $30,000. Everyone loves finding that hidden bargain and feeling like you have just hit the jackpot of all car deals, but do not let your emotions get the best of you. There are a lot of great deals on real luxury cars out there, you just need to shop around and be smart.
While the popularity of replica classic cars resides outside of the United States, it is sure to make its debut here soon with our social acceptance of owning counterfeit goods. This once taboo industry has become a booming global business. Pur Sang, an Argentine company, specializes in building Bugatti Type 37, 35, 43 and 51 replicas that can hardly be distinguished from the real thing. They are sold as replicas but some buyers obviously have no problem adding the Bugatti badge and declaring it to be an original.
By K. Verity.
Visit the Blog about ferrari san jose californiaWhich Ferrari Is Right For You?
If you are considering a Ferrari car as an investment, you have made a choice of valuing a Ferrari so that they will not only increase your net worth, but you'll have fun enjoying these stunning vehicles in the process. There are several different models of new and pre-owned Ferrari sports cars from which you can choose your favorite to build your portfolio and increase your friend's envy.
Italian Enzo Ferrari started out by building race cars, but included road cars in 1947. Many of the body styles came from Pininfarina, an Italian car design company. The street cars come in V6, V8, and V12 models. Body styles are referred to by letters. M refers to models that are modified from the original version, while GTB is the reference for coupes. GTS stands for older-model convertibles or targa top models. Modern convertibles use the designation of Spider. Some Ferraris are called Daytona or GTO, but these are not officially sanctioned names. The Dino models got their name from Enzo Ferrari's son, Dino.
The Ferrari road cars come in several different types. Sports cars are designed for their excellent handling, speed and good looks. GT cars are called grand tourer vehicles, and are usually of the coupe body style, and are a bit bigger than a sports car. The 2+2 style indicates that there are two seats in the front of the vehicle and two seats for passengers in the rear. The America-type Ferraris are grand touring cars that feature the big V12 engines. FR designed vehicles stands for front-engine, rear wheel drive. You might also hear of the RMR type of Ferrari, which is the rear mid-engine, rear-wheel drive layout. The name Supercar refers to their top of the line sports car.
A two-seat GT that Ferrari built was the 250 GT Coupe Pininfarina. The Ferrari Pininfarina was named the 250 GT Boano, which was a coupe. The Ferrari 250 GT California is a beautiful car that was featured in the hit movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
The Ferrari 365 GTB/4 is informally called the Ferrari Daytona, in reference to the 24 Hours of Daytona car race, which the
Ferrari team won in 1967. For lovers of speedy cars, the Daytona could reach zero to sixty miles per hour in a minuscule 5.4 seconds. A 365 GTB/4 was driven from New York to Los Angeles in just under 36 hours in a race in 1971.
The Ferrari 250 GTO is considered to be one of the finest sports cars ever built. Their value has skyrocketed, and if one happens to become available its cost would be in the millions. Ferraris such as these make an excellent investment.
By Jonathan Blocker.
