Ferrari doesn’t mess around with its brand image — and if you do, even if you’re a celebrity, you no longer get to be a part of the exclusive Scuderia family

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Photos by: MotorBiscuit

MARANELLO, ITALY

As the saying goes,  ‘you don’t choose Ferrari, Ferrari chooses you’. The Italian luxury sports car manufacturer takes its brand image very, very seriously when it comes to owning one of its luxe cars.

Upon buying one, you are issued a certificate of purchase noting that you are required to hold the car for at least one year and the car should not be an object of speculation. However, there are a handful of celebrities who have fallen foul of Maranello’s guidelines and are no longer welcome to buy a Ferrari.

Justin Bieber

Ferrari’s alarm bells rang when Bieber took his Ferrari 458 to the well-known auto styling garage West Coast Customs, where the company dressed the vehicle in a full Liberty Walk widebody kit and covered its original white paint with an electric blue wrap. The wheels were also changed and the steering wheel’s prancing horse logo was in the same shade of electric blue. For those unaware, Ferrari says owners of its vehicles should refrain from modifying them during the first year of ownership, and even afterwards, carrying out heavy mods that drastically change the aspect of the car isn’t allowed.

Bieber’s real offence came afterwards, when he auctioned the widebodied 458 for over USD$400,000 (S$527,478), without reaching out to Ferrari for permission. The Italian automaker doesn’t allow customers to sell their Ferraris during the first year of ownership, and this becomes more of a high profile problem when you’re a famous person. This is because they can easily profit from the sale by selling it to a fan for more than it’s originally worth. Considering that after a year does go by, Ferrari also asks sellers to notify them before putting the car up for auction, that way it can buy the car back itself. Bieber did neither, and the offence was the final straw that resulted in Ferrari banning the singer from buying future vehicles.

Floyd Mayweather

Although Floyd Mayweather grossed a ton of cash from professional boxing, that did not stop Ferrari from adding him to its infamous blacklist. As mentioned above, A Ferrari owner must retain their car for at least a year after purchase. Contrary to Ferrari’s rules, Floyd only held on to his possessions for a few months before selling.

Kim Kardashian

According to the Spanish publication Marca, the Kardashians have been added to Ferrari’s blacklist of celebrities banned from acquiring its cars. According to the Italian newspaper Il Giornale, they were blacklisted for not taking care of their Ferraris. The family also has a history of modifying luxury vehicles. Kylie Jenner owns at least three Rolls-Royce cars, Kendall Jenner collects vintage cars, while Kim’s USD$3.8m (S$5m) car collection includes a Rolls-Royce, a Lamborghini, and a Maybach sedan — all custom-painted grey to match her house.

Ferrari didn’t mention any specific incident that led to the decision. However, Kim was previously spotted with a new Ferrari in 2012. It is unclear whether it was hers or her ex-husband, Kayne West’s. After the long online discussion about the Kardashian ban, Ferrari clarified that it only “reserves the right to decide on special editions” or exclusive models, so the reality series stars can still purchase series production models if they want to.

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