The National Police have arrested a man in Elche accused of an intellectual property offence. Investigators discovered that he had allegedly modified a car chassis to build an exact replica of a Ferrari 360 Spider model, which he then put up for sale on a vehicle website at a price significantly lower than the original.
The investigation was carried out by the Cybercrime Group of the Higher Police Headquarters of Murcia, who detected the potential infringement of intellectual property rights. An operation in the Elche district of El Altet allowed officers to locate the suspect while he was driving the vehicle. A police statement described the car as an excellent replica of the original model from the Italian company.
A thorough inspection of the vehicle and its documentation revealed that a steel monocoque chassis from another brand had allegedly been used. Fibreglass and other low-cost materials were then used to build a vehicle with the appearance of a Ferrari, allegedly imitating and unlawfully using the designs, lines, logos, and typography of the iconic Prancing Horse.
The vehicle featured a black horse rearing on its hind legs, a yellow background on the shield in homage to the city of Modena where the brand was founded, an Italian flag, and the SF initials of Scuderia Ferrari.
These personalised details were added to a vehicle that reportedly possessed the necessary administrative approvals for industrial modifications and the ITV (equivalent to an MOT test), as its weight and dimensions had allegedly been adapted to meet official regulations.
Following the discovery of incriminating evidence regarding the alleged unlawful use of registered identifying elements belonging to the Ferrari brand, National Police investigators seized the car and arrested the man for an intellectual property crime.
