Brazilian cops have slammed the brakes on a garage churning out bogus sports cars, including sham Lamborghinis and fugazi Ferraris that looked like the lux supercars but really had Chevy engines inside.
Spurred by overseas complaints from the Italian companies behind the authentic autos, police in the southern state of Santa Catarina busted into the fraud factory on Monday — and discovered eight vehicles in varying states of completion.
“Some were half ready, some were just being started,” Det. Angelo Fragelli told the Guardian of the rides, shown in photos in an array of eye-catching colors.
Though the cars were outwardly eye-catching — bearing convincing emblem badges and logos stitched into the seats — the beauty was only hood-deep.
“The motors were much less powerful” than real Lamborghinis and Ferraris, Fragelli told the Guardian, noting that the engines were actually scavenged from cars including a Chevy Omega and an Alfa Romeo.
The knock-off autos were being sold over social media for about $45,000 to $60,000, a sliver of what the real McCoy would cost.
The raid came after a Brazil-based law firm that saw the ads tipped off Lamborghini, according to the Guardian.
“It is a crime against intellectual property because of the use of the logos and the use of the industrial designs,” said Fragelli.
Two men — not named in reports but identified as a father and son — have been charged with intellectual property offenses.
But the elder man insisted to the Guardian that everything was above board — and that they would still fill orders for their “artisanal cars.”
“We did not close,” the alleged car counterfeiter said. “There are cars being made for customers there and our commitment is to finish these cars.”
With Post Wires