Better late than never.
Isn’t all publicity good publicity? Wrong, as David Lee has discovered the hard way. The Los Angeles Times published an article on him in 2017 that misrepresented his ongoing discussions with his dealer about buying a Ferrari LaFerrari Aperta. That piece harmed his relationship with Ferrari, and those discussions were put on hold, as he recounts while driving his LaFerrari Aperta.
The LaFerrari Aperta was no exception. Ferrari is known for being picky about who gets to buy its supercars, and the LaFerrari Aperta was no exception. Only 200 of the cars were intended to be produced, and Lee, a real estate magnate and the owner of the Hing Wa Lee Group, a luxury watch retailer, wanted one as much as any other Ferrari lover. He had thought that his growing relationship with the company would help him get a car, but that didn’t happen once the storey was published.
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The problem stemmed from the way the article depicted Lee’s ongoing negotiations to buy the Aperta. The reporter had asked Lee if Ferrari had given him permission to buy a LaFerrari, which it had not, and Lee had answered truthfully. Those discussions were still going on. “He owns a dozen Ferraris and has a lot of money: Why can’t he buy a $2.2 million LaFerrari Aperta?” read the title of the piece.
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The hybrid LaFerrari Aperta produces 949 horsepower (708 kilowatts) and 664 pound-feet (900 Newton-meters) of torque thanks to a 6.3-liter V12 engine and an electric motor. The supercar’s motor can propel it to a top speed of 218 mph (351 km/h), with a 62 mph (100 km/h) time of just 2.8 seconds. To flick off fast shifts, the rear-wheel-drive Ferrari features a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. Only one LaFerrari Aperta is offered for sale on justRED.com five years after its debut; that’s how uncommon it is.
Lee visited with Ferrari to make amends, and he was eventually accepted back into Ferrari’s good graces. It didn’t happen quickly, but Lee’s sustained support for Ferrari paid off, and he was able to obtain his LaFerrari Aperta. The piece was written five years ago, and the misunderstanding is now in the rearview mirror.
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