http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a31846/preston-henn-lawsuit-dropped/
The man who owns what could be the most expensive car on earth has called an end to his lawsuit against Ferrari. A new and different lawsuit is expected to replace the first.
With a standard LaFerrari already in his possession, Preston Henn, renowned racer and car collector, sued the Italian auto manufacturer earlier this year when his desire to purchase a limited-edition LaFerrari Aperta was met with cool disinterest by the brand.
Through court documents, it was learned the 85-year-old owner of the Florida-based Swap Shop flea market empire made bold overtures to acquire the open-top Aperta. Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and the flagship Ferrari marque, first learned of Henn's interest for the LaFerrari Aperta after receiving a personal letter with a $1 million check included as a down payment.
Henn says Marchionne returned the $1 million with haste. The rejection, received as a personal slight, led the immensely wealthy Henn to get his lawyers involved and sue Ferrari "for reputational injury and the mortification caused by declaring him to be not qualified to purchase a LaFerrari Aperta," according to the complaint. "The publication of the statement that Preston Henn is not qualified to purchase a LaFerrari Aperta is an untrue statement which harms Henn's reputation, and holds him up to ridicule, disrespect, and disrepute in his profession, trade, occupation, avocation, and among his friends and business and social associates."
Henn's defamation suit, which sought $75,000 in damages, was halted at the end of November due to the exceptional costs involved.
"Well, I'm very unhappy with Ferrari," Henn told RoadandTrack.com . "And the reason the lawsuit was dropped, actually my lawyer sued on the hurting of my reputation. After we got all in it, I said, what do you think our odds [of winning] are? And he said zero. Because they said they had offered to settle, it cost a quarter million dollars to retain this outfit, to sue me. And I said, if you say zero, I don't want to go through with it. I said, can we sue them on other things? He said, yes. We're going to sue but on a different thing. Which I don't know yet what it is."
The self-made maverick is a throwback to a different time in America. An abstract forerunner of PayPal founder Elon Musk, Henn amassed his fortune renting space to flea market merchants across three massive properties. With decades of income generated by facilitating hand-to-hand sales of everything made available today via digital transactions on eBay, Henn has been blessed with the power and means to race throughout the globe and acquire every car that catches his interest.
The proud American has little time for those—including a revered manufacturer like Ferrari—who stand in his way. Henn comes from a time when if you could afford it, you could buy it. There was no application process involved when buying a supercar, and the act of being "selected" by a manufacturer for the honor to buy its latest creation had yet to be conceived. What Preston wanted, Preston got, which makes being barred from the LaFerrari Aperta, especially when he already owns many Ferraris, a stinging encounter.
As the owner of Ferrari 275 GTB/C chassis No. 6885, which carries an estimated value of $80 million or more, and a fleet of supercars from every imaginable brand, Henn expected that he'd have no problem acquiring a LaFerrari Aperta. That's obviously not the case. As a result of the LaFerrari contretemps, Henn says a 50-year relationship with the Italian firm has met its end.
"I have no feeling for Ferrari at all, zero," he added. "And since then we have discovered a lawsuit going on in Palm Beach County, a fraud lawsuit where this very, very wealthy guy [who] used to be president of Sara Lee, he put out a lot of money and will get an Aperta, when he didn't deserve it. It's a big lawsuit with the dealership there and everything."
Despite the newly litigious nature of the relationship, an invitation to attend last weekend's Ferrari Finali Mondiali at Daytona International Speedway was extended to Henn. Taking a page from Marchionne's reaction to his LaFerrari Aperta letter, the Daytona invite was joyfully rejected.
"I got some type of invitation … of course, obviously I didn't go to Daytona," Henn said. "Not really knowing Marchionne but knowing how smart he is, he's got to try to figure out, he does, what made Ferrari as famous as they are because he is going down a different road. He's not doing the Formula 1 worth a shit. And he can't cut off his best customers. And he has done it. Not only, I figure, am I a good customer, forget that I'm a Ferrari customer, but I am the best customer any guy like him is going to have because I buy every top car."
The pursuit of Marchionne and Co. through the legal system has become a personal matter for Henn. Although the specifics of the next lawsuit related to the LaFerrari Aperta snub are unclear, Ferrari would be wise to prepare for an ongoing fight.
"Yeah, this isn't going away," Henn confirmed. "It ain't [about] the fucking car."
The arrival of a brand-new twin-turbo V6 Acura NSX has also led Henn to reevaluate his attachment to the standard LaFerrari.
"Here's something that may be hard for you to believe, but I got that La Ferrari and it was delivered to my house… and I didn't like it," he declared. "And I got here and I couldn't get out of the car. I had to call the police to get me out of the car. What happened is I didn't realize that door was as heavy as it was. Once I realized it, they could pull the door and get out and I had no problem. It is just not a comfortable car.
"In fact, I just sent a letter [to Acura] about how I like the NSX. It is the best damn car I have ever had. It is unbelievable. It is really, really a great car and it is $200,000 versus… well, the last Ferrari I got from them, not the La Ferrari, the last one I got, I forgot what it's called, it was a Spider, whatever it is, but it was $750,000. And this is so much better at $200,000."
Maybe there's a personal resolution in this outcome. Henn didn't love the LaFerrari, so it seems unlikely that he'd love the LaFerrari without a roof. And if he loves the Acura so much, he's found a car that's checked all his boxes, saved him money, and he didn't have to get into a legal battle to get one.
The man who owns what could be the most expensive car on earth has called an end to his lawsuit against Ferrari. A new and different lawsuit is expected to replace the first.
With a standard LaFerrari already in his possession, Preston Henn, renowned racer and car collector, sued the Italian auto manufacturer earlier this year when his desire to purchase a limited-edition LaFerrari Aperta was met with cool disinterest by the brand.
Through court documents, it was learned the 85-year-old owner of the Florida-based Swap Shop flea market empire made bold overtures to acquire the open-top Aperta. Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and the flagship Ferrari marque, first learned of Henn's interest for the LaFerrari Aperta after receiving a personal letter with a $1 million check included as a down payment.
Henn says Marchionne returned the $1 million with haste. The rejection, received as a personal slight, led the immensely wealthy Henn to get his lawyers involved and sue Ferrari "for reputational injury and the mortification caused by declaring him to be not qualified to purchase a LaFerrari Aperta," according to the complaint. "The publication of the statement that Preston Henn is not qualified to purchase a LaFerrari Aperta is an untrue statement which harms Henn's reputation, and holds him up to ridicule, disrespect, and disrepute in his profession, trade, occupation, avocation, and among his friends and business and social associates."
Henn's defamation suit, which sought $75,000 in damages, was halted at the end of November due to the exceptional costs involved.
"Well, I'm very unhappy with Ferrari," Henn told RoadandTrack.com . "And the reason the lawsuit was dropped, actually my lawyer sued on the hurting of my reputation. After we got all in it, I said, what do you think our odds [of winning] are? And he said zero. Because they said they had offered to settle, it cost a quarter million dollars to retain this outfit, to sue me. And I said, if you say zero, I don't want to go through with it. I said, can we sue them on other things? He said, yes. We're going to sue but on a different thing. Which I don't know yet what it is."
The self-made maverick is a throwback to a different time in America. An abstract forerunner of PayPal founder Elon Musk, Henn amassed his fortune renting space to flea market merchants across three massive properties. With decades of income generated by facilitating hand-to-hand sales of everything made available today via digital transactions on eBay, Henn has been blessed with the power and means to race throughout the globe and acquire every car that catches his interest.
The proud American has little time for those—including a revered manufacturer like Ferrari—who stand in his way. Henn comes from a time when if you could afford it, you could buy it. There was no application process involved when buying a supercar, and the act of being "selected" by a manufacturer for the honor to buy its latest creation had yet to be conceived. What Preston wanted, Preston got, which makes being barred from the LaFerrari Aperta, especially when he already owns many Ferraris, a stinging encounter.
As the owner of Ferrari 275 GTB/C chassis No. 6885, which carries an estimated value of $80 million or more, and a fleet of supercars from every imaginable brand, Henn expected that he'd have no problem acquiring a LaFerrari Aperta. That's obviously not the case. As a result of the LaFerrari contretemps, Henn says a 50-year relationship with the Italian firm has met its end.
"I have no feeling for Ferrari at all, zero," he added. "And since then we have discovered a lawsuit going on in Palm Beach County, a fraud lawsuit where this very, very wealthy guy [who] used to be president of Sara Lee, he put out a lot of money and will get an Aperta, when he didn't deserve it. It's a big lawsuit with the dealership there and everything."
Despite the newly litigious nature of the relationship, an invitation to attend last weekend's Ferrari Finali Mondiali at Daytona International Speedway was extended to Henn. Taking a page from Marchionne's reaction to his LaFerrari Aperta letter, the Daytona invite was joyfully rejected.
"I got some type of invitation … of course, obviously I didn't go to Daytona," Henn said. "Not really knowing Marchionne but knowing how smart he is, he's got to try to figure out, he does, what made Ferrari as famous as they are because he is going down a different road. He's not doing the Formula 1 worth a shit. And he can't cut off his best customers. And he has done it. Not only, I figure, am I a good customer, forget that I'm a Ferrari customer, but I am the best customer any guy like him is going to have because I buy every top car."
The pursuit of Marchionne and Co. through the legal system has become a personal matter for Henn. Although the specifics of the next lawsuit related to the LaFerrari Aperta snub are unclear, Ferrari would be wise to prepare for an ongoing fight.
"Yeah, this isn't going away," Henn confirmed. "It ain't [about] the fucking car."
The arrival of a brand-new twin-turbo V6 Acura NSX has also led Henn to reevaluate his attachment to the standard LaFerrari.
"Here's something that may be hard for you to believe, but I got that La Ferrari and it was delivered to my house… and I didn't like it," he declared. "And I got here and I couldn't get out of the car. I had to call the police to get me out of the car. What happened is I didn't realize that door was as heavy as it was. Once I realized it, they could pull the door and get out and I had no problem. It is just not a comfortable car.
"In fact, I just sent a letter [to Acura] about how I like the NSX. It is the best damn car I have ever had. It is unbelievable. It is really, really a great car and it is $200,000 versus… well, the last Ferrari I got from them, not the La Ferrari, the last one I got, I forgot what it's called, it was a Spider, whatever it is, but it was $750,000. And this is so much better at $200,000."
Maybe there's a personal resolution in this outcome. Henn didn't love the LaFerrari, so it seems unlikely that he'd love the LaFerrari without a roof. And if he loves the Acura so much, he's found a car that's checked all his boxes, saved him money, and he didn't have to get into a legal battle to get one.
