Man Builds Ferrari F40 Replica Out of Scrap, Ferrari Is Out for Blood

Ferrari's penchant for lawsuits is something of an urban legend and oftentimes a topic of ridicule. It's not that people argue that Ferrari isn't right to be overprotective of their copyright. What many find hard to believe is that the marque seems to go to drastic lengths to protect the brand, and specifically the aura of exclusiveness around it, suing even customers for flipping a new car sooner than they deem right.

Whatever your take on it, just know that Ferrari is, among all carmakers, the quickest to rush to court to file a civil lawsuit in case of a perceived damage to the brand. One dentist from Sao Paolo, Brazil, can attest to that because he's been duking it out in court with them for more than five years. And it doesn't look like Ferrari is willing to back down until they're getting paid.

Back in 2017, José Vitor Estevam Siqueira thought he'd indulge a childhood fantasy and started working on a passion project, a replica of the iconic Ferrari F40. The F40 isn't just the first production car to break the 200 mph (322 kph) barrier but also the last car developed under Enzo Ferrari, and one that he himself deemed "perfection."

As far as choices for inspiration go, Siqueira picked a winner.

He worked on the replica for about two years, using materials he'd buy from scrap and components he'd source on the second-hand market, in a makeshift garage outside his home. He molded the body himself out of metal sheets and aluminum, and put the engine from a 1997 Toyota Camry inside. Obviously, he never aspired to make a car as impressive as the real F40, you have to give him that.

Had he stopped at just building the replica, he would have probably lived a happy life to this day. But he didn't.

In late 2018, Siqueira's dental practice was broken into and thieves walked away with essential and very expensive equipment. To cover the losses, he listed the project car for sale on a local platform, with an asking of R$ 80,0000, which is approximately $13,820 at the current exchange rate.

The listing pinged on Ferrari's radar, and Ferrari immediately contracted a Brazilian lawyer and filed a complaint with the police for copyright infringement.

The ad was pulled when Siqueira decided he'd rather part with his dental practice than the car, but the harm had already been done. Shortly after, he learned that Ferrari had sued him for copyright infringement and loss of profit, arguing that he'd deliberately copied one of their design to make money for himself. Obviously, it didn't matter that he didn't sell the replica, because the intent had been obvious – and they had the proof in the listing.

Ferrari is asking R$ 42,5000 ($7,340) in compensation, but is yet to receive more than a couple hundred dollars that the court found in Siqueira's bank account when they froze it. In the meantime, Siqueira himself tried to sue the carmaker for R$ 100,000 ($17,270) claiming that he ended up needing therapy when their lawsuit damaged his reputation. His lawsuit was thrown out.

Reports in the local media make it sound as if he's exhausted all rights to an appeal.

In a video he posted to his socials after police seized the car, Siqueira claimed that he built it because he was pursuing a childhood dream and that he'd done it for his "friends" on the socials. He also urged his followers not to give up his dreams and joked he might start building a Lamborghini replica next, because he already had the know-how and the experience.

The F40 replica was destroyed in 2020 after the investigation determined that it was an unlawful copy. Perhaps the funniest – and also saddest – part is that police documents comparing the replica to a real F40 noted that the finish on the former was "rough" despite the obvious attempts at copying the latter. In other words, it wasn't even a good replica to begin with.

Ferrari introduced the F40 in 1987, with plans to build 400 units. A little over 1,300 in total were built, 213 of which were destined for the U.S. market, which makes one such unit today a highly coveted collectible.

As a choice for a replica, the F40 was a very sound one, but Siqueira lacked the skill and, ultimately, the finesse to do it justice. And if there's one thing Ferrari has proved time and time again is that they're relentless when it comes to protecting their intellectual property.

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