Although he tried his best to turn his old Pontiac Fiero into a beautiful Ferrari 355, a businessman from Agrigento, Italy, has recently been accused of trademark and patent violations.

There aren’t many car enthusiasts out there who can honestly say they wouldn’t like to have their own Ferrari. It’s the most iconic sports car brand in history, and all of its creations are widely recognized as engineering masterpieces, but unfortunately few of us can actually afford one. Case in point, an Italian businessman who wanted an iconic Ferrari 355 so bad he decided that if he couldn’t buy it, he was going to build it himself. But rather than starting from scratch, he turned his old Pontiac Fiero into an almost perfect replica of the vehicle designed by Pinifarina. He did a wonderful job both on the outside and the inside, and only a real connoisseur could actually spot any differences from the original, only he forgot one small detail before venturing on the open road in his fake Ferrari, the car’s registration.

When police pulled over the businessman during a routine check, they noticed the bright red Ferrari 355 was actually registered as a Pontiac. Now we’ve seen other people build their own Lamborghini Reventon or Rolls Royce Phantom, but they only drove them around their neighborhoods or on circuits. Instead, this particular Ferrari fan got caught on the road, and is now facing charges for counterfeiting a trademark.

via Reppublica.it