Ferrari burns rubber on China cultural heritage

A Ferrari SpA dealership employee took a spin on Nanjing’s 600-year-old city wall, leaving tire marks on the Chinese relic and prompting an apology from the automaker.

By (Bloomberg)

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Published: Thu 10 May 2012, 10:56 PM

Last updated: Tue 7 Apr 2015, 12:25 PM

The Ferrari dealer had rented a gate along the state-protected cultural property encircling the former imperial capital for a May 7 showing of the limited edition Ferrari 458 Italia, according to the official Xinhua News Agency and videos on youku.com.

The car was lifted by crane onto the wall the night before the show, then a driver gunned the engine and performed an unauthorised donut spin that left tread marks, according to Xinhua and youku.com videos, which didn’t identify the driver by name. A news clip showed workers attempting to remove the marks with a mop.

“Ferrari has always respected Chinese traditional culture and values the protection of historical and cultural relics,” the Maranello, Italy-based company said in the Chinese-language statement posted on its blog and verified by Shanghai-based spokeswoman Cathy Wen. “Ferrari deeply regrets the incident.”


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