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Controversies
Myths and
Mysteries have always fascinated the human mind. The mind loves
anything mystic , hidden or half exposed. Mysteries and
controversies have dodged the automobile world for a long time. A
world extremely complex and huge. From design tables to assembly
lines and from board rooms to bed rooms there is a story, a
controversy , a hoax hidden somewhere waiting to be told. Be it the
mysterious death of William Favre or the story of the round door
Rolls. It is the controversies and mysteries that make the
automobile world all that more lovely and beautiful. |
William
Favre
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He was young,
charming and an attractive Frenchman. A Grand Prix International
magazine had just printed an advertisement saying, "It was
still possible to buy a GTO250 at a reasonable price." A
reasonably priced GTO was quite surprising at that time when a
genuine would sell at 2 million dollars. What William Phillipe Favre
did was to recreate the charismatic 1962 Ferrari GTO 250. He was
adventurous and daring and loved risk. He was called the "thorn
in the Fiat's flesh", and the very mention of his name was
enough to drive Enzo Ferrari mad. Favre had money and guts. With
these he set out to realize his dream. He could never afford a
genuine Ferrari GTO 250 even when Ferrari would sell them. He
started building his own GTO 250 with a donor car. Things were
perfect till then and if Favre had satisfied himself with his
creation and paid attention to his real business, he probably might
have been alive today. He had a very complex personality. He could
change himself from a charming individual to a viscous devil.
One of America's Ferrari-only weekly publishers had dedicated almost
an entire issue casting doubts and deriding Favre's integrity.
Enzo's reaction to Favre's idea of replicating the GTO 250 initially
came as disinterest. As far as the cars of the past were
concerned Enzo's interest was highly lacking. |
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There was a
time when collision met Ferraris could be bought at prices as low as
3 to 5 thousand dollars .In 1980's, the price of the Ferrari
classics shot up to astronomical figures. By this time a lot of
Favre replicas were out in the market. The situation was difficult
for Enzo to neglect. America has always been a happy hunting ground
for Ferrai, the country which holds a vast number of loyalists. The
increasing popularity of The Favre replicas took Enzo by
worry. In 1985 Favre had quite a range of Ferrari
replicas in different stages of construction. At one time his unit
his unit boasted eight GTOs, Three GTO 250 Californian Spyders,
a few 1959 Testa Rossa and a 330 LMB. Perhaps the biggest
concentration of replica Ferraris in one place at the same
time.
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Favre
was very much concerned about passing his cars as a genuine Ferrari,
hence he planned enough precautions to see that a Favre car wasn't
passed as a genuine Ferrari, and was of course his greatest surety
was, anybody would double check a Ferrari before buying it. Dishing
out seven digits was not easy for anybody and would double check for
a fake. Favre's GTOs weren't perfect, From a distance they looked
very much identical to the original but within a short distance, the
deficiencies were clear. A few months later Favre was arrested by
Swiss authorities on the charge of building and selling counterfeit
Ferraris. He was imprisoned for 5 days. After his release his wife
divorced him. The result was disastrous. His commercial integrity
was in shambles. To add to the woes his partner, a lotus importer in
France reneged on their contract. Angry and frustrated, Favre pulled
him to the court. Over the next few months Favre fought him in
courts. He finally was awarded damages worth one million pounds
sterling. By September 1985, with the new found money, work was
started on a new Favre GTO and over the next three years, Favre saw
5 GTOs built. William Favre was a restless man, little things would
irk him. Enzo was still stalking him in Swiss courts. The projected
production of GTOs were put at 40 and extensive jigs were
constructed to build 40 GTOs. The first GTO was built in 1986 and
sold for 75000 dollars. In 1989 it was allegedly offered for sale in
Florida for 1 million dollars. He considered the first car as
prototype number 1. Many changes were made to the second car both
aesthetically and mechanically. The second car was much better then
the first, but more refined and more original. The second car was
bought by a Californian. As the car was tested at Snetterton, Favre
said, "If I had to die tomorrow, I will die a happy man. I have
seen the best GTO ever built." During the rest of the day Favre
showered praise for the car's builder. Favre had a quality that few
had, he always gave people their due credit. He often mentioned the
GTO constructor had golden hands.
Now suddenly things started to change, it was getting difficult to
get donor cars. Dullness was creeping in Favre's unit. In spite
this, Favre lived extravagantly. Now he was flying twice to England
every month and stayed in expensive places. Winter holidays were in
the Caribbean and summers in California and many more exotic
locales. A customer was found for the third car. The new customer
and his wife were taken to the factory to have a look at the way the
Favre were built. During this time a Lebanese came into the picture
who seemingly was helping Favre with money and other businesses. He
was in Geneva representing a group of Businessmen. As of this friend
hardly any details were known. This new friend hardly improved the
financial position of Favre. Favre was busy paying back debts. The
London bank where Favre was controlling a large overdraft insisted
that he settle with them and transfer his business elsewhere.
Sometime late, he broke off connections with his Lebanese friend.
Another disturbing bit of information for him was that his bodyguard
had been arrested while holidaying in Italy. He was charged on the
attempt to bomb a light house.
Things were becoming more and more difficult for William Favre. He
was late paying money to his constructors. Debt had inflated to
astronomical levels. He was slowly losing interest in the GTO
project. He was forced to sell his house and close down his British
operations. He decided to go back to France and rebuild his fortunes
and concentrate on property business.
On the night of October 26th 1988, the Frenchman had taken his life
with a .357 Magnum Pistol. Some weeks later the police opened
a murder enquiry. |
