Automotive Faqs

In Italy, stealing secrets from Ferrari ranks right up near the top of the most heinous crimes that you can commit. Following a long, drawn out process, two former Scuderia Ferrari engineers, who stood accused of stealing secrets from Maranello and giving them to rivals at Toyota F1, have been convicted. Pending appeal, Angelo Santini was sentenced to nine months and Mauro Iacconi to 16 behind bars on charges of industrial espionage.

Back at the start of the 2003 season, Toyota built a wind-tunnel down the road from Ferrari in Sant’Agata Bolognese, near the Lamborghini factory. Naturally the project recruited the talents of many former Ferrari engineers, but when the season kicked off, Toyota’s car looked suspiciously like Ferrari’s. Complaints were filed in Italy and in Germany, and the case against Santini and Iacconi went to court a year ago.

Toyota’s former team principal, chief designer and chief aerodynamicist were all charged in Germany, where the case against them is pending prosecution. It seems that Toyota will stop at nothing to catch up to Ferrari, and when hiring a Schumacher didn’t work, less legal means were employed.

Related Articles:

GM And Toyota May Work On 2009 Hybrid Jointly - Hybrids are becoming ever more popular and we may soon get the option of buying a hybrid Toyota Matrix and a hybrid Pontiac Vibe. Rumors...

Inside Line Adds 308 To Its Collection - If there was ever a way to purchase a 308 most of us would do it. And who wouldn’t if they were half their normal price. Way back when...

Dany Bahar Promotes Ferrari - As if Ferrari needed any help promoting its brand, they’ve gone and hired Dany Bahar. During his tenure at Red Bull, the intrepid Turk transformed...