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Lawsuit alleges Ferrari diagnostic tool used to roll back odometers

A longtime Ferrari salesman is accusing a Palm Beach dealership of using Ferrari's DEIS diagnostic tester tool to reset a 2015 LaFerrari's odometer, driving the supercar's value up by over $1 million. The lawsuit alleges that in October 2015, a technician at New Country Motor Cars reset the digital odometer of the LaFerrari in exchange for cash from its then-owner. What makes the lawsuit especially interesting is that it says using the DEIS tester to perform a rollback would require logging in with Ferrari North America, and alleges the technician was on the phone with Ferrari NA during the operation. The odometer-tampering allegation came up as part of the plaintiff's wrongful-termination claim against New Country Motor Cars. The lawsuit also alleges the tester has been used for this purpose beginning in April 2010, along with a written Ferrari policy manual and instructions and factory authorization, and was performed as recently as March 2015 during official Ferrari factory technician training in Italy. Odometer tampering is a dodgy business and a federal crime, no matter whether you're turning back the reading of an old taxi or a Ferrari worth millions. The lawsuit was first reported by the British Daily Mail, and subsequently covered by Jalopnik. The lawsuit has produced a countersuit by the owner of the LaFerrari in question.Related Video:

Ferrari posts record profits on restricted volume

Most automakers are after one thing and one thing only: selling more cars. Because, after all, selling more cars means making more money. Right? Well that's usually the case, but Ferrari has taken a different approach. Rather than try and sell more cars, Ferrari intentionally sold fewer models in 2013, yet it made more money.
The move was implemented after 2012 emerged as the strongest year in the company's history. Instead of pushing to sell even more cars, it opted to maintain a level of exclusivity by selling fewer - 5.4 percent fewer than the year before, to be specific - thereby ensuring that those it did sell were worth more. As a result, in 2013, Ferrari logged record turnover, profits and finances: on 2.3-billion euros of revenue (up 5 percent from the previous year), Ferrari recorded 363.5 million euros in profit last year - that's roughly $500M USD.
Before you go jumping to conclusions, though, bear a few factors in mind. For one, Ferrari's stakeholders aren't pocketing all that cash - they're reinvesting it into the company: over the course of the same year, Ferrari invested some 337 million euros - 464 million dollars - in research and development. And while the company's extensive merchandizing efforts continue to bring in more cash, at 54 million euros ($74M) raised last year, the branding operation still doesn't account for a sixth of overall revenues. Still, it's little wonder that the experts at Brand Finance have named Ferrari the world's most powerful brand for the second year running.

1960 Ferrari 250 GT sells for over $8 million in record-setting RM auction weekend

Although the vast majority of eyeballs were tuned to the madness at Barrett-Jackson this past weekend, that televised car auction wasn't the only high-dollar game in Arizona. RM Auctions brought its usual gaggle of exotic wares to the desert, and the car that came out on top sold for much more than Barrett-Jackson's highest sale, the Batmobile.
Coming out on top at RM last weekend was Lot 164, a 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta 'Competizione' that sold for a massive $8,140,000 - the buyer could've nearly bought two Barris Batmobiles for that chunk of change. Lot 122, a 1967 Shelby 427 'Semi-Competition' Cobra, stood at $2,007,500 in second place, just in front of Lot 145, a 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4, which sold for $1,842,500.
After all said and done, RM reported $36.4 million in sales. That's a record for RM in Arizona, even though the total number of lots for 2013 was reduced significantly. Eight machines cracked the million-dollar mark, and you can see all of them in the press release right down below or peruse all of the auction results here. But first, be sure to scroll through our high-res image gallery of live photos above.