LaFerrari Seized In South Africa, Having Already Spent Three Years In Customs Warehouse

After failing to go through the proper channels to register a LaFerrari in South Africa, this supercar owner unsuccessfully tried to smuggle the vehicle back into the country

Matt Robinson

Updated: 12 Sep 2024

You’d think if you had the kind of money to buy a LaFerrari, you’d be cool with spending the extra to sort out all the local tax requirements. And yet, one example of Ferrari’s hybrid hypercar has sat in a bonded warehouse for three years because its owner didn’t go through the proper import procedures and associated VAT in South Africa.

The owner - who has not been named - finally decided to do something about in last month, by exporting it to the Democratic Republic of Congo. The next day, there was an attempt to sneak it back across the same Beitbridge border post it left via. Unsurprisingly, it was promptly seized.

Having already ‘wasted’ three years of its life in a warehouse, this LaFerrari now faces an uncertain future. It’s not even legal to drive left-hand drive cars registered after 2004 in South Africa, so some outlets are speculating it might even be crushed. It could also end up being sold outside the country, but either way, it’s not going to be used any time soon.

Source: African News Agency via Independent Online

Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.

Comments

They tried to steal Enzo’s body and now they tried to smuggle a LaFerrari. What’s next? Are people gonna try to counterfeit Ferraris and fool rich people? Oh wait…

Or better… make Ferraris look like MR2’s!

If he can’t produce the papers, it’ll be crushed

If It Will Not Get Crushed Maybe James May Will Get An Extra Laferrari

I hope that they do the smart thing and sell it in an auction. They’ll get between 1-3million and the car will live on.

I don’t want to seem racist but I do think the goverment over there could use the money for good

So will the African children.

You can always rice it, then give it to the kids of africa.
no? okay.

This is probably them right now.

Kids in Africa could have eaten that Ferrari

I don’t understand why you’d crush a car like that. Not only “NOOOO PRECIOUS SUPERCAR PLS NO CRUSHY CRUSHY”, but it’s probably worth much more as an intact car than it is as scrap material.