[XGoFivk7]

From Drive.com.au via Jalopnik:



Three Ferrari 360 Spiders wowing the crowd doing burnouts just inches from each other at Top Gear's Live show are apparently fakes, based on Toyota MR2s. Well, at least they weren't Fiero-based. Here's what Drive has to say about the shocking scandal:The three Ferraris that wowed the crowd by doing burnouts just inches from each other in the confined spaces of Acer Arena were apparently fakes. Underneath their exotic red panel work, the "Ferraris" were believed to be infinitely less glamorous Toyotas.
The replica Ferraris, reportedly based on Toyota MR2 underpinnings, were produced at a fraction of the cost of the real McCoy. The Ferrari 360, which was discontinued in 2005, sold for almost $400,000, while the MR2 cost less than $50,000 new.
But wait, wouldn't the auto-crazy crowds at the Top Gear Live shows have noticed the MR2 engine sounds a wee bit different from the beast behind the glass panel in the 360? Well, yes, which is why they weren't allowed to actually hear them:For fans who attended one of the ten shows last weekend, the only clue that all was not what it seemed was the loud music that drowned out the sound of the "Ferrari" engines. Organisers were clearly concerned that the sound of four-cylinder MR2 engines – in lieu of high pitched Ferrari V8s - would give the game away, especially in a stadium full of car nuts.
Several Herald bloggers who saw the show complained that the sound of the "Ferraris" had been drowned out by loud music and one suggested the cars may not have been genuine.
How naughty is this?

[nerohedfrs]

Not very naughty but still funny.

[andreas]

Cheapskates... but at least MR2s are very agile.
The CD of Ferrari Engine Noises would have come in handy...

[gedsiz]

Well I certainly would not be using the real deal, think of what could happen? The audience would burst into tears if a real Ferrari crashed...An audience of depressed car fans is something I bet they wanted to avoid.

Not cheap, smart.

[newspetty]

Brilliant execution. I did not notice at all. I found it underwhelming but it never crossed my mind that they weren't Ferraris. Come to think of it, they did have pretty loud music at the time.

[andreas]

Well, here's a pic of a fake Ferrari...

The wheels and the lack of vents are giveaways...

[ticfarentibia]

wow..that's a really good replica

[Broorbbub]

imo the peugeot 406 based looks better from the outside
of course i'm not talking about the engine placement and such
they're offering fake engine dummies for it, though

http://www.extreme-sportscars.com/360/home_360.htm
http://www.extreme-sportscars.com/360/donor.htm
http://www.extreme-sportscars.com/360/forsale.htm

[andreas]

Wow, that does look better than the MR2-based one. Looks almost exactly like the real thing. If I had one, I'd splash out on a new exhaust system to make it sound (a bit) more like the real thing too, although you can't come close to a Ferrari noise...

[XGoFivk7]

LOL!

Ferrari tells Top Gear to stop using knockoffs in live show (Autoblog)

Apparently, word got around to Ferrari that Top Gear Live was not using real Prancing Horses for its stunt driving routine in Australia a few weeks back, and it sounds like the Italian automaker is none too happy about it. A spokesperson for Ferrari said, "We asked them to change it... for the Hong Kong [Top Gear Live] show (the last stop on the world tour). We said please use real Ferraris."

The Ferrari spokesperson also said that Top Gear Live had admitted to using replica Ferraris. BBC's head of communications, Philip Fleming, says that he's been in contact with Ferrari but stops short of admitting that the show's supposedly Italian machinery was fake. Whatever the case, the Top Gear Live show in Hong Kong didn't use Ferraris at all, real or fake. Instead, the sequence was changed to incorporate unspecified drift cars that TG believes are more in keeping with the the interests of the local audience. Problem solved.

[andreas]

Busted!

[ticfarentibia]

I am sure if Ferrari provided them with real cars, they wouldn't be using replicas.

[andreas]

They probarbly did it for cheapness. Multiple Ferraris doing donuts in a relatively small space could end in tears...

[Broorbbub]

If they would take the labels off, and not say it's a Ferrari, for example just call it an Italian Stallion, would Ferrari still have a case?
Basically my question is: Is a car design a registered trademark?

[DoctorBretonDen]

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