Adam Levine vs. "Fake" 1971 Maserati: Two Vintage Ferrari Swapped and a Lawsuit

The lead singer and his wife, model Behati Prinsloo, usually buy houses to flip them for a profit. In 2020, had traded two Ferraris, thinking he received a rare Maserati in return. Little did he know, he didn't get the deal he expected.

In late 2020, Levine worked with classic car dealer Rick Cole, swapping two Ferraris for a Maserati.

The cars the Adam Levine Living Trust traded to Rick Cole were a 1972 Ferrari 365 GTC/4 and a 1968 Ferrari 365 GTC, which had a combined value of $950,000. In return, he got $100,000 and a 1971 Maserati Ghibli 4.9 Liter Spyder SS. This one was valued at $850,000, but it turns out, after taking it to verify the vehicle's authenticity, the car was not what he thought he was getting.

Now, Levine is suing the car dealer, asking for at least $850,000 in damages or to undo the $950,000 deal he made, the Los Angeles Times reports.

The documents claim that the classic car dealer, who worked with big names like Steve McQueen, Johnny Carson, and Frank Sinatra in the past, faked the documentation, chassis, and engine authentication.

When getting the car, Levine thought he was getting an authentic 1971 Maserati Ghibli 4.9 Liter Spyder SS, one of 25 ever made. The Maserati was referred to as "the 1241," having the identification number AM115.492.1241. And that is not a fake number - such a car does exist.

The issue is just that the car was sold a few years ago to British luxury car collector Clive Joy. The lawsuit adds that the vehicle “has been in Switzerland ever since as part of Clive Joy's collection, under the care of legendary race car driver Christian Trabe.”

Since Levine is "not in the classic car business," he believed Cole about the car's authenticity, later to find out the car was pulled from an auction in 2015 amid issues with its provenance.

Before you start rolling your eyes, Cole reportedly did provide documentation authenticated by Maserati expert Fabio Collina, confirming its authenticity. But it looks like the signed paperwork was not for the car Levine actually got, but for the real one.

The documents also reveal that the numbers on the chassis and engine proved they were aftermarket additions, with a different font and style than the one Maserati used when manufacturing the vehicles.

The Ghibli SS came with a 4.9-liter V8 engine, as the name indicates. Rated at 330 horsepower (335 ps) and a torque of 354 lb-ft (480 Nm), it was powerful enough to give it an acceleration to 62 mph (100 kph) from a standstill in 6.8 seconds and a top speed of 160 mph (257 kph), making it the fastest Maserati road car the marque produced at the time.