And he released a triumphant video to celebrate…
David Lee is an avid Ferrari collector, owning a dozen of the cars from Maranello. He felt he was acting as a good brand ambassador, something Ferrari absolutely demands if anyone wants to buy any of the more desirable models from an official dealer, and thought he had a good chance at finally landing a LaFerrari Aperta. That’s when he had a not-so-favorable interview with the Los Angeles Times which focused on why Ferrari wouldn’t offer him a LaFerrari Aperta. That was five years ago. Now Lee owns one.
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At the time, Lee took exception to what he calls a sensationalized story which ended up on the front page of the paper. According to him, the LaFerrari Aperta bit was just a passing comment as the reporter checked out his collection and talked about his relationship with Ferrari. He even asserts that the original article was just a straightforward review of what was in his garage at the time, but that the reporter told him the editor forced the changed tone.
Such things do happen in the publishing industry, so it’s entirely possible what Lee says happened is accurate. We also know Ferrari can be rather picky about who has the privilege of buying what car. It’s not like the company is struggling to sell vehicles, so that business model seems to be working rather well.
Anyway, Ferrari’s corporate headquarters interpreted the Los Angeles Times article as Lee leveraging the media to force their hand. Lee describes it as “a dark time, for sure” as the relationship with the automaker he loves so much became strained. It even got so bad, Lee claims he would call the dealer and nobody would return his calls.
So Lee had a video produced to triumphantly celebrate finally getting a LeFerrari Aperta. It’s complete with the old Puff Daddy and Jimmy Page song Come With Me, if you remember that weird mashup, at the beginning and Kenny Logins’ Danger Zone for the ending. Tell us what you think of this whole story after you check out the video.
