"Fake" Ferrari ring busted

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Kristian.
I think you may have missed the point that I'm trying to get across here. This car has absolutely NOTHING to do with Thailand.

This is a sensationalist falsehood being spread around by the 'Authentics Foundation' .... presumably in their conniving efforts to convince the EU politicians that the EU is being flooded with counterfeit goods from the Far East !! The car which they exhibited, as their centrepiece, at the 'Fakes Co$t More' expo, in Brussels on Monday is clearly a Noble P4 replica - built from a British made kit - just like all the other Noble P4 replicas we have discussed, previously. This one has lurked around the London area for many years, before it was stumbled upon by the anti-counterfeiting lobby, who siezed upon the opportunity. Only they've chosen the wrong Ferrari fake to use.

Don't you remember, back in May, 2006, when EU commissioner VP Franco Frattini was waving a photo of this very same car around at the Intellectual Property Rights conference in Brussels ? He was claiming, at the time, that said car had been photographed 'in a scrap-yard on the outskirts of Shanghai', and that the Chinese manufacturers were about to flood the market with 'fake' Ferrari P4 replicas ??
I personally initiated some questions to the EU parliament, via my MEP, Graham Watson, which ultimately led to commissioner Frattini having to issue a public apology to the Chinese government.

Pretty soon, the Authentics Foundation are going to be issuing a public apology to the Thai government, if I have anything to do with it.

Besides - haven't you spotted the obvious mistake ?? .... The Thais love gold, and the colour gold. Think temples and Buddha statues.
What colour should a real P4's (or any P4 replica) wheels be painted ? Gold ! Ooops !!! They missed that one ! Major mistake !

 

Paul, I know. I'm just making a bit of fun out of this ridiculous story.

It's clearly a Noble and the country which have produced the most amout of P4s is England closely followed by USA, South Africa, France and Italy (with 4 real ones and a fake one as far as I remember - you can correct me on that one)

When we had the last episode with Frattini I tried to make the different news papers here aware of the fact that the car was english and not chinese or now thai. But they didn't care.

I'm affraid that they simply don't care what a P4 enthusiast like you and me have to say about this.

These people have their own agenda.

 

I know, Kristian - but thanks for giving me the opportunity (to vent).

Yeh - but now they are on my agenda.

 

That's the car.....sorry I couldn't find the magazine locally, they haven't stocked April's issue yet at the local newstand. I actually like the overall body shape to the vehicle, although every time I see that 'motor' shot, I cringe.....the author has every right to fear for his life when starting that thing up! I've seen suicide bombs built with more skill and pride than that - what that owner needs is a donor 308/328 mill, a custom carb setup, and some custom ceramic header pipes....oh, and that black trim around the light lenses MUST go, along with the non-correct gauges in the dash.

 

Not a problem, Mike. I'm grateful for the heads up you inadvertantly gave.

Pretty much 'stock' Noble P4 berlinetta, with the over-tall roofline, and doors cut deeper into the roof.
Yes, most of us Noble P4 owners are quite happy with it, too - even if it's not exactly 100% correct.

As the saying goes (and I do own one of these things myself) 'people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones' ....
.... and also, as the model registrar, I would normally abstain from criticising other owner's cars, in most circumstances ....
.... but in this particular case, I'll make an exception. It's probably the cr*ppiest one I have ever come across !

Nah. Not a 308 or 328, Mike. If used in their normal transverse configuration, they are a bit too wide for the stock Noble frame.
It would will need widening, plus other mods, such as seen on the Japanese 328-powered Noble P4 discussed in these 2 threads:

http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=135418 and http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=136511 (pics)

Alternatively, you could turn the motor through 90° and adapt a Porsche or ZF transmission, as a few (308) builders have done.
But why go though all that hassle ? A 348 motor and transmission (or cheaper Mondial T package) will drop straight in.

Agreed. In fact, the car's owner needs to buy a new pair of perspex headlight covers (NF Autos) - and start all over again. They should really only have 4 fixing screws each. 6 or 8 is reasonable, IMO - but 24 fixings per side, plus all that black gunge is rather excessive.
.... And while he's got the covers off, I'd also recommend painting the headlight area in matt black, and adding some lower driving lights.

It's not just the gauges that are wrong in that car's dash - the whole dashboard is completely wrong.
The builder seems to have decided to dispense with the instrument binnacle behind the steering wheel.
In fact, a standard Noble P4 dashboard looks quite presentable, and with a little thought, they can be made to look quite realistic.
This is the dash of the well-known (at least in P4 replica circles) ex-Eddie Perk Noble P4. Looks 'a bit more like the real thing', eh ?
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Incidentally, this (photo above) is the interior of the same car at the top of the page in this AM730 Hong Kong news article ....
.... after publication of which, EU Commissioner VP Franco Frattini had to issue a public apology to the Chinese government ....
.... for falsely claiming (back in April 2006) that the (Brussels) car in the photo had originated in a 'scrapyard in Shanghai'.
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Dear Jezza.

The Sun newspaper printed this article in your motoring column on Saturday (15th March):

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I am disappointed in you for having put your name to this, without the proper research.
Better still, to use your parlance .... This article of yours is a total load of b*ll*cks !

Call me on my mobile - (or drop me an email), and I'll give you the full scoop.

But first - go back to page 4. Read though the true facts about this car. Then call me.

Regards, Paul.

 

As the owner of a P4 Replica, built from one of Neil Foremans kits over a 2 1/2 year period, I , like all other P4 Replica owners was rather shocked that the 'Authentics Foundation' used a P4 Replica as the center piece for their 'Global Anti-Counterfeit Summit'.

Having watched the 'Fake Trade' on channel4 last week, it bought home how dangerous things have become when items like Drugs & Chicken Eggs are faked, ( the eggs having toxic yokes ) These items are killing people.

To put P4 Replicas in the same bracket as these products is clearly a mistake, my P4 is deemed safe to use on the road, having passed an SVA test last October.

Clearly the 'Authentics Foundation' had not done their homework before presenting the P4, unless they can prove that the car was manufactured in Thailand, after reading the posts by P4 Relica, they may have difficulty providing this proof. If they can't prove this fact, I think they should publicly appologise to the Thailand Government & to all P4 Replica owners.

To anyone taking a casual look at my P4 Repica, it may pass as a genuine Ferrari, looking deeper, anyone even with minimal knowledge of cars would realise it was not a real Ferrari, just in case, I have a decal on the tail that states:-' Foreman Mk4-Ferrari P4 Replica'.

Lets hope we can get that appology!!

All the best,

BAE.

 

Looks like Autoweek got scammed into printing more of Mosterts "Authentics Foundation" BS. They had a two page spread on the "fake P4" that came in the mail yesterday...

Here is a link to the on-line interview with the editor......

http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080812/AUDIO/527266117/1528

I listened to the podcast on their web site and their editor actually believed the crap about phony SLR's and Maybach's being made "somewhere" in the far east (I think that this time it was in Hong Kong).... Talk about how to start an urban legend. It's sad a good mag like Autoweek gets caught up in this kind of deception.

 

I found this site on how to spot a fake mini cooper on a link at the "authentics foundation" web site...

This site is fantastic!!! It tells you in detail how to spot a fake MiniCooper. Even though, for some of us who know cars very well, it may be obvious, it perhaps isn't obvous to others. This site is performing an important public service and is getting rid of the scourge of fake MiniCoopers that is decending like a plague in this country.

Even more importantly it has a crash test of a fake Mini that shows how dangerous the fuel system is on these fakes....

Here is the direct link to the page with the crash test...

http://www.counterfeitmini.org/detect_a_fake.php#

I think everyone should spend some time THOROUGHLY exploring this site.

 

Excellent!!!!

 

Does anybody know anything about the Chuck Rahn/Bob McKee built TR350's, a tribute to the 1957 TR250 made around 1985.