5 Times Ferrari filed absurd lawsuits to protect its brand

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There are few more automakers with more brand power than Ferrari. The almighty Italian supercar manufacturer has been on top since its early days as a racing team, and has no intention of slowing down.

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Furthermore, Ferrari knows what it has, and isn’t about to let anybody tell it what it can and can’t do to its cars. In fact, if you own one of these well-tuned machines, Ferrari might tell you what you can and can’t do with it.

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5 Times Ferrari filed absurd lawsuits to protect its brand Back to video

It doesn’t matter if you’ve fully paid for your Ferrari, the brand will still come after you if you even think of changing the looks, altering the performance or in any other way slighting the reputation of the Prancing Horse.

Enzo Ferrari himself was so fanatical and superstitious that in the early days of his career as a manufacturer, he would personally oversee the complete destruction of every Ferrari race car that had crashed (the cars were scrapped to help dispel the bad mojo).

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The brand’s gone so far as to have its iconic 250 GTO officially recognized as art , giving Ferrari the clout it needs to quash wannabes making replicas that look remotely like the holiest of automotive grails that is the GTO.

Our point? Through history, Ferrari has struck down many who attempted to change what is, in the brand’s eyes, perfection. With an iron fist, the automaker from Modena will stop at nothing to make sure its image, and that of its vehicles, remains as pure as the racing blood that flows through its cars’ veins.

Here are five times Ferrari fought back. Mostly against its cars’ owners. Often with a lawsuit.

Ferrari F40 Barchetta Beurlys

This yellow roadster started life as an F40 IMSA LM, which slipped through the fingers of the racing team and ended up in the hands of racing driver Jean Blaton (racing alias Jean Beurlys), who had the roof chopped off with the help of Michelotto, the original designer of the F40.

More than just the roof was changed, though: the entire suspension was revised with pushrod coilovers; the exhaust was routed to exit in front of the rear wheels to save weight; and a tubular steel cage was installed to regain some body rigidity.

Ferrari, seeing that almost everything had been changed from its original design, demanded the badges of the vehicle be removed, which they were. The car still attends unofficial Ferrari track days.

Deadmau5’s “Purrari” 458 Italia

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The Ferrari 458 is not exactly a standout car — in fact, it’s the brand’s “volume model,” so it stands to reason an owner might want to personalize it with their own special touches. That’s exactly what Toronto-based electronic music artist Deadmau5 did in a big way, weaving a Nyancat-inspired theme (it’s an internet meme thing) into his Italia to transform it into the “Purrari.”

Obviously, Ferrari didn’t like the modifications made to the vehicle. Specifically, it abhorred the “Purrari” play-on-words and affiliate custom badges, floor mats and licence plates. Deadmau5 was forced to take off the wrap, as well as ditch the custom floor mats and Purrari badges, and, before he sold it and got a Lamborghini, Tweeted it’s “just a normal-ass 458 now.” Shame.

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Ferrari vs Purosangue

Ferrari hardly ever shows poor form — except in the case of the Mondial , and, more recently, we guess in the case of the Purosangue debacle.

The upcoming SUV – which has been basically confirmed to wear that name – itself promises to be something special and different from other brands’ high-riding kid-haulers, but securing the badge for it hasn’t been as easy as taking candy from a baby.

The biggest obstacle? The name “Purosangue” is already being used by an anti-doping charity, one Ferrari is now suing for the name’s use . The organization seems reluctant to bow to Ferrari’s distasteful lawsuit, especially since it’s been operating under the banner since 2013.

Perhaps Ferrari, a race car manufacturer, should consider calling its sell-out SUV something other than “pure blood” – the translation from Italian – especially if it has to fight a life-saving charity to get it.

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Phillip Plein’s Shoe Photography

Ferrari is a highly fashionable brand, so what can its beef be with this designer? Turns out fashion designer Phillip Plein was ordered by the brand to take down photos on his own Instagram depicting his own products juxtaposed with his Ferrari 812 Superfast. Ferrari says he was using the vehicle to add value to his products , and elevate his status as a designer. On the surface, this seems petty, but dig a little closer and you’ll agree with Ferrari.

The German fashion designer was not only taking pictures with scantily clad women washing the Ferrari, he had also been known to employ the likes of Chris Brown and Takeshi 6ix9ine in his fashion shows, two men with histories of perpetrating sexual assault and other unsavoury acts. The pictures have since been removed from Plein’s Instagram.

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Miami Vice‘s Ferrari Daytona copy

As a new show on a relatively shoestring budget, an honest-to-goodness Ferrari was out of the question for Miami Vice , but the status of the main character as a high-profile boat racer demanded he have a flashy car to match. A Corvette-based Daytona kit car was used , and once Ferrari got wind, it took action.

Ferrari was so much more fun in the 1980s, and instead of just asking the producers of the show to take the badges off or stop using the vehicle, they asked for the Daytona to be blown up on screen. That moment ended up being one of the pivotal moments of the series, and a great spectacle.

The brand was even a good sport about the whole thing, and offered the show a real Ferrari Testarossa, the brand’s flagship at the time, to be used for the remainder of the series.