Ferris Bueller Lives!

The car made famous by the movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" lives again. The car is a replica of a 250GT Califronia Spyder. It was originally called the Modena now the CalSpyder and is being produced in Phoenix, AZ. The company is Classic Cars by Renucci. The original Modena was built in southern California where there were probably about 20 of them produced. The company fell on hard times and one of the owners, Louis Linixwiller, moved operations to Phoenix about 4 years ago. He tried to get his sons to take over the business and when that failed, he sold it to Mike Renucci. Mike is a PHD engineer with 30 years in the automobile industry. He worked for Jaguar and when Ford bought that company, he transfered to the Ford division in Detroit where he retired as director of vehicle engineering for North America. He purchased the rights, molds, parts, and several unfinished cars (one of which belongs to me) from Linxwiller. He has spent the last year and a half getting a shop setup, making numerous improvements to the car's design and trying to finish the work that the previous owner had promised. He has just put up a new web site www.calspyderii.com. OK, I know it is not a real Ferrari and that may offend some people on this board. But for $65,000 you can look like you are driving a $2-3 million dollar car. And you won't worry that some idiot will crash into your irreplaceable heirloom. Also you will have AC, a modern sound system, power disk brakes, power steering and better performance than the original. If I owned a real California Spyder, I might buy one of these just to drive for fun. Check out the web site. Renucci is offering the car both as a kit and a completed turnkey vehicle.

 

forget offending people - watch how quickly Ferrari sends out a cease-and-desist.

 

Can the skirt that by not having emblems/cavallinos?

 

I have one of these cars. Navy blue/tan
Its a real looker. Many people look at it as if it is the real deal.

 

So $40,000 in parts, not including engine, trans, instruments, or interior or convertible top. A bargain when you can get a real Ferrari 308/328 for 40K-50K

 

Nope - it's not just the emblems and badging, the design is trademark infringement. The intent is to sell it as a Ferrari even without the badging. Otherwise, all the Corvette Daytona body companies would still be around (along with the other half-dozen kit cars based on Ferrari designs)

 

And my understanding was that the Ferrari cease-and-desist was the original reason Modena built only a few and closed their doors in the 80s?

 

As much as virtually everyone loves this styling/car, when is it unethical?

I am no lawyer but I smell money.

If you are painting a copy of the Mona Lisa and calling it Mona Lisa'a Sister beware. You will be served. You may wish to consider the damages to the prevailing party.

While not knowing the exact circumstances of the "Modena" case, I would say it was correct.



Just my .02 .

 

Ferrari has always been VERY aggressive about pursuing copyright infringement, as IMO, they should be. These guys won't last long.

Witness the "Mera," a re-body of the apalling Pontiac Fiero of the eighties. It looked very similar to a 308/328, and was actually sold as an option through Pontiac dealerships. Not for long, though.

The sad part, to me, is that a lot of kit car and component car companies are turning out some quality products. (Many, of course, are still crap.)

If you have a PhD, engineering and/or mechanical experience, why invest so much time, effort, and money in plagiarism and counterfeiting? Though I don't care much for the styling of the Nobles, we've got to hand it to the guy for building something ORIGINAL!

And to the poster who pointed out that you can buy a genuine Ferrari 308 or 328 for about the same money: RIGHT ON! That's what I did, even if it's not a million-dollar model.

 

Methinks it would be more difficult for Ferrari to copyright the 250gt shape. I read the legal opinion on the daytona and it relied very heavily upon both the fact that it was a "symbol" of Ferrari AND that it was a very unique design. The bueller shape is "close" to a 250gt, but not that close (as has been discussed extensively on this forum), and there were a number of "similar" italian GTs that have been produced over the years. Perhaps the inability of the original bueller designer to exactly replicate the 250gt design is what saves this company from court ordered bankruptcy. . .?

IMO, without the f****ri emblems this car is a really cool ride. With the emblems, it's a sorry fake driven by poser-wannabes (as has also been discussed extensively on this forum!)

 

All the car need's is a V12 engine swap.

 

well, if Ferrari did not know about the start up company before, they sure as hell do now !

 

Saw a photo of one in a European collection (it looked like the owner wanted a driver replica of his real 250), the engine looked totally awesome but the car just didn't look right (for obvious reasons!!)

 

I'm just thinking about having that glorious V12 music, heck you could even throw in a Jag V12 and not feel bad because it's not a real Ferrari anyway.

 

It is also possible to buy a fake Rolex, fake Gucci shoes and a fake Louis Vuitton bag but it doesn't mean you should. I am comfortable knowing I cannot currently afford a $3 million vehicle, it gives me something to shoot for.

 

Just like they did to the MERA, manufactured by Corporate Concepts.

I remember having a conversation with the then president, after Ferrari started making calls.

 

+1

 

Sales numbers killed the Mera, they might have blamed it on Ferrari. I had a 88 and have worked on a few 87 Mera's and they are really well built for the timeframe. But they cost as much as a corvette at the time, there were still some for sale in the early 90's never registered. They also built the "??Pantero??" or something close to that but only were able to crank out 3 complete cars.

There is less of a case on the 250gt in my opinion but its close enough for them to file. Without shields and badges its got a lot of influences that they can claim. Now if they get away with it then the price is going to plummet on these cars. Someone will splash it or fab it up, its not that difficult of a body to reproduce, and two years from now 10K gets you a complete kit.

Heck there is a gullwing on eBay right now in SD thats amazing. Price is going to be out of my reach but darn its cool.

 

These guys have been around a couple years and are still making cars,they must be doing something to allude the Ferrari police. Geez!, the modern seats with headrests look horrible, why would they do that, legal issues?

 

nicest reproduction I've seen!
To me, I'd rather have it than a 308.

 

This is hardly the only replica in the world, and without actually calling it a Ferrari or using trademarked bits, I don't think there is anything they can do. Shelby tried hard to shut down the Cobra replicas, but ultimately you can't trademark a design shape.

Having built one of those Shelby-offending Cobras (it's called a "Roadster" because you cannot say Cobra), I can tell you that in many ways, a replica can be better than the original. The two biggest things I have found are (1) personalization and (2) reliability. I am ignoring performance, though there is no question my replica would outperform a race-prepped original in every way.

Replicas are also like children: you will find enjoyment in your own that no one else ever will. And just like having kids, you won't get it until you've been there.

This is a pretty well done kit to my eye, but I agree it would be lacking something without a V12, preferably a Ferrari V12. That's not an easy proposition, but it certainly is possible. One of the great things about using a big american V8 is the fact that you can beat the living $&it out of it.

Here is another, but the V12 has kept me from doing it:

http://race-car-replicas.com/rcrp4.html

 

You mean counterfeit, fake, phony.

You have a right to buy whatever you want, but don't gloss over what it is.

 

A "counterfeit" is an imitation made with the intent to deceptively represent as an original. No one is saying this is a Ferrari. It is a car.

 

Nice, perhaps, but a blatant copy. My point is that, no matter what it's called, no matter how "nice" it is, and no matter the legal technicalities that allow so many faux "Cobra" manufacturers to stay in business, IT IS OBVIOUSLY A COPY of someone else's work. And that's unethical, no matter what it's called.

Would you really rather have that heap of plagiarism than an actual Ferrari? If you mean it, then it's hard to imagine that you're the actual owner of the turbocharged 348 in your profile photo.

 

Were you the one bidding against me in Palm Beach two years ago Paulie?

If it is the one with super low miles... Tan Interior.

Love those Modena's. Wish I could have a real one but spending 5M for a car.....

I like what you have rather than the newer one available now . Sell it to me Paulie
Craig