[Celebrity Car Collection] Top 5 Celebrities Banned From Owning A Luxury Ferrari

by IndianAuto Team | 12/04/2019
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Money can give you access to many exclusive luxuries, but being extremely wealthy doesn’t always guarantee you a spot on the list of customers permitted to buy Ferrari’s limited-edition models.

Being one of the automobile manufacturers with the most famous and sought-after sports cars, Ferrari has the privilege of choosing the person that can purchase its products, not the other way around. Buyers also have to follow the rules set up by them, such as no covering the logo, no tampering, having already owned a Ferrari before, taking good care of the car, et cetera. The strict requirements means even a lot of celebrities don’t get to own the supercars unless through buying second-hands, and even the selling can’t take place too soon after purchase or the seller will be blacklisted immediately. This might leave the unqualified celebs feeling bitter, some even tried to sue the automaker, but Ferrari could care less as long as this system still works well in stoking up the hype and ensuring the price for its limited-edition cars. Here are some famous people banned by Ferrari from possessing its products.

1. Deadmau5

Deadmau5, whose real name is Joel Zimmerman, gave his Ferrari 458 Italia a unique wrap in tribute to the Nyan Cat, a viral Internet phenomenon. Clearly seeing the adorable Pop-Tart cat and rainbow adorning its pricey product doesn’t amuse Ferrari one bit. The colorful wrap was not the only thing customised – the DJ and musician even changed the badges and floor mats so that the Purrari’s Prancing Cat logo covered the original. No wonder why Ferrari sent him a cease-and-desist order to get rid of all of the customisations. In the end – after some heated tweets – Deadmau5 had the entire thing removed and the 458 returned to its original form, but the possibility of him getting in Ferrari’s exclusive group is almost zero. Although it might not be too much of a problem for the DJ as since then he has got himself a Meowclaren and was offered a Nyan Cat-themed Nissan GT-R.

 Powder blue Purrari side view

Deadmau5 might have look badass for a body full of tattoos, but he has a thing for cute cats

2. Tyga

The people at Ferrari puts a lot of work into crafting some of the best sports cars in the whole world, so it is understandable that they expect owners to show some respect to the cars and treat it like the piece of art it is – at least in their eyes. However, Tyga doesn’t seem to play by the rule. In 2016, the rapper failed to make payments on a red 2016 Ferrari 488 and got sued by the lessor. Ironically, the car was repossessed when Tyga and his then-girlfriend Kylie Jenner were out looking at new Bentleys. According to TMZ, he also leased a 2012 Ferrari 458 Spider and a 2012 Rolls-Royce Ghost but stopped paying before the lease ended, so the rental car company is taking legal action. These reports may be exaggerated, but other news of financial troubles mean the rapper won’t make the VIP list anytime soon. Makes us wonder where all the money from his cash flash on Instagram has gone, really.

Tyga next to red 2016 Ferrari 488

Tyga took his leased 2016 Ferrari 488 out for an event

3. Chris Harris

Unlike the quirky artists mentioned before, Chris Harris is a famous reviewer and writer for many popular automotive magazines like Evo, Autocar, and Jalopnik, so how the hell did he end up on Ferrari’s blacklist? The answer is pretty ironic - by doing his job. In 2012, Harris wrote a blog post with the title “How Ferrari Spins”, in which he criticised the Italian car manufacturer for optimising cars used for testing so they would do well in magazine performance tests. In his words, “it will soon be pointless believing anything you read about [Ferrari’s] cars through the usual channel”. Harris remarked that the Ferrari 360 Modena press car’s 0 - 97 km/h speed was 2 seconds faster than a customer car he tested, and there was also the “standard” tyres that sticks to the roller during a dyno tuning session for a 430 Scuderia, for which he called Ferrari “paranoid”. Needless to say, the company was not happy with the callout and Harris’s name was taken off its list of journalists entitled to loaner cars. However, it looked like they have reconciled in 2013 after Harris gave a good review of the Ferrari 458 Spider.

Red Ferrari 458 Spider rear-side view

Chris Harris wrote that Ferrari 458 Spider is “an absurdly good car to drive” and Ferrari felt better about him

4. David Lee

The multi-millionaire watch and jewelry entrepreneur looked like to be the perfect candidate for one of the limited-run LaFerrari Aperta convertibles. After all, he presented himself as an avid Ferrari fan as he owned many Ferrari cars and even bought some straight from the manufacturing facility. As a Ferrari enthusiast, David Lee makes friends with a powerful Ferrari dealer, visited the factory, and attended the Ferrari driving school in Italy. He purchased, restored and displayed vintage Ferraris at several exclusive concourse events. All that and the man was rejected by Ferrari. What is truly going on with Ferrari’s nice list and naughty list??? Are they getting mixed up by any chance?

We still don’t know exactly why Lee was denied a spot for an Aperta, only that Ferrari said he was a valued client. Some suggested that Lee’s extravagant style might be too much for the automaker. He has an Instagram account posting almost daily photos of his watches, wine, and his $50-million car collection, and he is still campaigning relentlessly for the Aperta through it. Observers close to the brand think this strategy is backfiring, though.

David Lee sitting on a car tyre surrounded by his car collection

David Lee loves his million-dollar car collection that consists mostly of Ferrari upon Ferrari

5. Preston Henn

When Ferrari turned down the USD 1-million deposit check mailed directly to its chairman and his order for the new LaFerrari Aperta (yes, it is the Aperta again), Preston Henn was determined to find out why he was rejected. The former car acer and multi-millionaire enlisted the help of friends to investigate only to be told that he was deemed “not qualified” without further explanation, typical Ferrari style. Maybe they just did not like his “money solves everything” tactic, but what kind of business says no to money? So, Henn would have none of it. Offended by the rebuttal, he filed a lawsuit against the carmaker for damaging his reputation as a Ferrari collector and sought USD 75,000 in damages. The defamation suit was eventually dropped when Henn was told by his lawyer that they had no chance of winning, though apparently he still wanted to sue Ferrari on a different thing that he himself did not know yet what it was.

Preston Henn in a flea market, wearing a cowboy hat

Preston Henn prided himself on being a ferrarista, yet Ferrari turned him down

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