Crushing Counterfeits: What Ferrari Has Done To Combat The Market For Fake Vehicles

Counterfeit products are something we often associate with small, luxury goods like jewelry, handbags, or watches. It doesn't seem like anyone would be brazen enough to fake a Ferrari and the little prancing horse on top of it, but it happens more often than you'd think. Just last year, the company seized and crushed three fake Ferraris. It was part of a wider, ongoing campaign in which Ferrari has tracked down and taken out thousands of bizarre products bearing the car company's logo, including clothing, glasses, watches, wallets, and even a refrigerator, in case you were looking to take your milk and eggs to the next level.

The numbers are a bit astounding. According to official figures from Ferrari reported by The Courier, hundreds of thousands of items have been found and destroyed, including 91,000 pairs of eyeglasses, 61,000 wristwatches, 800 scooters, and 30,000 bottles of perfume. These counterfeit items are a bit easier to swallow than the idea of faking a whole car, but false copies of some of the best looking Ferrari models have also been apprehended and crushed.

As Ferrari's general legal counsel Carlo Daneo told The Drive, the fake Ferraris often feature a genuine Ferrari chassis with the model of another, more expensive model swapped over top of it. In some cases, the counterfeit cars are simply taken off the market, but in rarer cases, they're crushed into sad-looking cubes. With that in mind, it's good to keep your wits about you if you happen to be in the market for cheaper, used Ferraris.

"Sometimes the party in possession of a fake Ferrari has no intention, originally, of demolishing it," Daneo told The Drive, "especially when they have spent a not inconsiderable sum to acquire it." But the legal implications, and the fact that the modifications may have compromised the car itself, means it has to be removed in one way or another.

Most of the time, though, Ferrari is dealing with much smaller, cheaper items like bags, shoes, and belts. They've even asked the public to help rat out any items that don't seem to pass muster. The company's anti-counterfeiting reward project lets verified users submit reports to Ferrari about any fake products they catch in the wild. In return, you'll get an official thank you and a prize to go along with it.