Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine is said to be the victim of a scam: the star gave two vintage Ferraris in exchange for a very rare Maserati Ghibli 4.9 Spyder SS which it later turned out to be a fake. The pop star took the matter to court.
be a star known all over the world it does not shield you from being victim of a scam. That seems to be the moral of the story that has resulted the frontman of the very famous Maroon 5, Adam Levineto attempt a lawsuit against a luxury vintage car dealer who allegedly gave him a very rare 1971 Maserati Ghibli 4.9 Spyder SS in exchange for two Ferraris, which later turned out to be fake.
In fact, on January 11, 2021, the 43-year-old singer traded in his 1968 Ferrari 365 GTC and 1972 Ferrari 365 GTC/4 to well-known dealer Rick Cole (valued at a total of 950,000 dollars) to own one of the 25 existing 1971 Maserati Ghibli 4.9 Spyder SS and an adjustment of 100,000 dollars. For two years Adam Levine was convinced that he owned a very rare Trident car, but when he then tried to sell it in turn he received a bitter surprise.
Indeed, the inspection of the car carried out by Autosport Designs of New York in early 2023 found that the one purchased by the pop star two years earlier was not an authentic 1971 Maserati Ghibli 4.9 Spyder and that car in 2015 had already been withdrawn from an auction by the US authorities precisely because it was considered fake (the Court ruling had in fact established Maserati’s inauthenticity by reducing its value to much less than what Lavine paid for it).
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Although at first glance it looked like a Ghibli 4.9 Spyder, it would in fact be there several suspicious details which suggest that it is a fake, starting from the fact that the style and characters of the logo and identification plates would be different from those used by Maserati in 1971. The most damning evidence, however, would concern the chassis number which would be the same as that of one of the 25 specimens, certified by the Trident manufacturer, which is currently in Switzerland and is owned by a British collector who gave it to the well-known Swiss driver Christian Traber.
Once he learned that it was not an original Ghibli 4.9 Spyder, the international star asked Rick Cole to return the 850 thousand dollars or to tear up the sales contract and return his two Ferraris given in exchange, however, finding himself faced dealer’s refusal. At that point Adam Lavine decided to take the matter to court accusing Rick Cole of cheating (because, according to the indictment, he would have been aware of the fact that it was a fake and would also have falsified the car’s documentation, passing it off as one of the 25 specimens of the very rare Maserati).
The lawyers of the Maroon 5 singer have also provided two options as to which car is actually a very rare Maserati Ghibli 4.9 Spyder from 1971. It could be one Ghibli Spiders to which the 4.9-litre engine was later added and the identification plates and chassis number were modified to pass it off as one of the few Maserati Ghibli 4.9 Spyder SS; or of one Ghibli Coupe then converted.
Now it will be up to the California District Court to decide whether the one bought by Adam Lavine in exchange for two Ferraris This is a “real” Maserati Ghibli 4.9 Spyder SS from 1971 or earlier and then possibly if the pop star has been the victim of a scam or has just made a bad deal.