There was no Deadmau5 Ferrari lawsuit. In August 2014, Ferrari sent producer Joel Zimmerman a cease and desist letter over his Nyan Cat–wrapped Ferrari 458 Spider, nicknamed the “Purrari,” but the company never filed suit. Zimmerman complied, pulled his sale listing, and had the custom badges and wrap removed.1NME. Deadmau5 Forced to Remove His Purrari Ferrari Customisation
What Zimmerman Did to the Car
Zimmerman bought a white 2013 Ferrari 458 Spider F1 Edition, first showing it off publicly around July 2013.2GT Spirit. Deadmau5 Shows Off Ferrari 458 Spider On March 31, 2014, he unveiled a full vinyl wrap based on the Nyan Cat meme, a baby-blue background with a pixelated cat trailing rainbows.1NME. Deadmau5 Forced to Remove His Purrari Ferrari Customisation He also pulled the prancing horse emblems off the car and replaced them with custom “Purrari” prancing cat badges, adding matching custom floor mats inside.3HotCars. Real Reason Ferrari Sued Deadmau5
The Craigslist Listing
In June 2014, Zimmerman entered the Purrari in the Gumball 3000 rally.4Jezebel. Meet Deadmau5 Purrari, a Nyan Cat Themed Ferrari Shortly after, around mid-June, he listed the car for sale on Craigslist for $380,000. When Craigslist pulled the listing, he moved it to AutoTrader.5Rolling Stone. Cat and Mouse: Deadmau5 Selling Purrari Car for $380,000 The public sale attempt appears to have been the final straw for Ferrari.
What the Cease and Desist Demanded
On August 27, 2014, Zimmerman disclosed on Twitter that Ferrari had sent him a cease and desist.1NME. Deadmau5 Forced to Remove His Purrari Ferrari Customisation By his account, Ferrari North America’s two main issues were the custom Purrari badges and the custom floor mats, and the company wanted the emblems removed.6Jalopnik. Ferrari Sent Deadmau5 a Cease and Desist About His Purrari
Sources describe the legal theory a little differently. Some report the letter alleged copyright infringement and defamation tied to replacing the prancing horse with the Purrari cat.3HotCars. Real Reason Ferrari Sued Deadmau5 Others characterize it as a trademark claim.7Stites & Harbison. Deadmau5 Gets in Trademark Catfight With Ferrari Ferrari also raised a contractual issue. Its standard Right of First Refusal Agreement requires buyers to offer the car back to the dealer before selling it elsewhere, and Zimmerman’s Craigslist listing may have violated that clause.
How It Resolved
Ferrari never filed a lawsuit. Zimmerman pulled the online sale listing and had the wrap and badges taken off. He summed up the result bluntly: “It’s just a normal ass 458 now.”1NME. Deadmau5 Forced to Remove His Purrari Ferrari Customisation No settlement payment has been reported. Whether Ferrari’s legal theories would have held up against an owner modifying his own property was never tested in court.
The Lamborghini Follow-Up
Zimmerman sold the Ferrari, bought a Lamborghini Huracán, and applied a near-identical Nyan Cat wrap with matching accents. He called it the “Nyanborghini Purracan.” On July 31, 2015, he posted a photo of the finished car on Instagram, tagged Ferrari USA, and wrote: “U mad @FERRARIUSA?”8Autoevolution. Deadmau5 Wraps Lamborghini Huracan in Nyan Cat, Trolls Ferrari on Instagram Lamborghini never sent a comparable legal threat; one automotive outlet reported the company appeared to be “all good” with the project.9Zero2Turbo. Deadmau5 Nyanborghini Purracan Nearly Ready The Huracán was listed for sale in 2017 with fewer than 1,700 miles on it, at roughly $289,900 Canadian (about $235,000 U.S.), with the listing noting the wrap could be removed.10The Drive. You Can Buy Deadmau5’s Nyan Cat Themed Lamborghini Huracan Right Now
Why Ferrari Polices Owners This Way
The Purrari episode fits a documented pattern. Ferrari vets buyers of new cars based on credit history, social standing, and brand loyalty.11HotCars. Rules Ferrari Owners Must Follow After purchase, owners are expected to leave the logos alone, avoid unapproved paint colors (pink, rose, and salmon are reportedly banned on new orders), use authorized service channels, and not publicly embarrass the brand. Owners who break those unwritten rules risk being blacklisted from future purchases.12Autoevolution. The Strict Rules of Ferrari Ownership
Ferrari has moved against others on similar grounds. In 2019 the company sent designer Philipp Plein a cease and desist over Instagram photos of his sneakers posed on the hood of a Ferrari 812 Superfast, alleging the images tarnished the brand.13The Fashion Law. Ferrari Doesn’t Want Philipp Plein Putting His Wares Alongside Its Cars The Zimmerman dispute never reached that stage. The cease and desist got Ferrari what it wanted, and the Purrari was gone.