Ferrari Sues to Stop Sales of Replica Cars

Italian sports-car maker Ferrari is suing an Oregon auto body shop, claiming the shop builds and sells imitations of the company’s famous cars without permission.

In a lawsuit filed Nov. 16 in U.S. District Court, Ferrari alleges that M & N Auto Body has made several fakes of its sleek F 355 GTS model, even using its trademark “prancing horse” logo.

Ferrari is seeking unspecified damages and wants the body shop to stop making the replicas.

Ferrari’s attorneys believe that shop manager Vui Nguyen has already built three of the cars, but he denies it.

“We’re a service shop. We do body work and paint. We’ll do paint work, but we don’t make the cars,” he said this week.

Ferrari attorney Albert Robin said the company wants to send a message to other replica makers. “We can’t sue everybody, but the word is out,” Robin said.

“They all know if Ferrari finds out, Ferrari will take action against them,” he said.

Building replica sports cars--often called “kit cars”--is a subculture complete with trade shows, newsletters, Internet chat rooms and national competitions.

There are hundreds of kit-car makers, ranging from hobbyists to full-scale businesses.

Ferrari kit cars usually are made by removing the body from a more mundane vehicle and replacing it with a fiberglass shell that fits onto the chassis.

The shell transforms the old car into a Ferrari look-alike.

Replicas sell for $30,000 or more, depending on quality, but Ferrari lawyers say Nguyen is selling his for $5,500 to $7,000, not including the cost of the base car.