An irate Ferrari collector is suing the luxury Italian car maker because he isn’t being allowed to buy the new LaFerrari Spider.
Most of us are unable to buy a Ferrari for one very simple reason – we don’t have the crazy amount of money necessary. But for American businessman Preston Henn, it seems no amount of money is enough to secure the Italian supercar he craves. And boy is he mad.
The LaFerrari Spider is an exclusive new open-top supercar powered by an 800-hp V12 engine married to a 163-hp electric motor. So special is this model, that you’re only allowed to buy one if you meet Ferrari’s particular standards.
Needless to say, Mr Henn didn’t qualify to join the list for a LaFerrari Spider, which has led to an extraordinary response from the 85-year-old American.
First, Mr Henn mailed a $1,000,000 deposit cheque to Ferrari CEO Sergio Marchionne. When this was returned, Henn filed a lawsuit on the grounds that Ferrari’s rejection “harms Henn’s reputation and holds him up to ridicule, disrespect and disrepute in his profession, trade, occupation, avocation, and among his friends and business and social associates.”
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As Autoweek discovered in the filed court papers, Mr Henn is making the case that his extensive history of Ferrari ownership – which runs to 18 cars, including the ultra-valuable 275 GTB/C 6885 Speciale – qualifies him for ownership of the LaFarrari Spider.
Henn is seeking “in excess of $75,000” in reparations from the luxury car maker for the damage done to his reputation. Of course, the emergence of this court case in the media has attracted the kind of ridicule that really will harm Henn’s reputation, you suspect. It’s tough at the top, eh?
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What do you think of Mr Henn’s case? Let us know in the comments.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.