Owning an exotic car comes with plenty of expected risks—stone chips, careless parking, and the occasional overenthusiastic admirer. Few Ferrari owners, however, expect their six-figure supercar to become neighborhood playground equipment.
That’s exactly what happened to the owner of a Ferrari 488 GTB in Kunming, China, who has now filed a civil lawsuit against the parents of four children accused of using the Italian supercar as an impromptu jungle gym.
The incident occurred in late May after four neighborhood boys, reportedly all under the age of 10, discovered the Rosso Red Ferrari parked in an open area. Security camera footage that later circulated on social media shows the children climbing onto the car, sitting on the windshield, walking across the roof, and sliding down the rear glass as if it were playground equipment. At one point, the exposed engine beneath the rear window appeared to capture their attention, while bamboo poles were also seen making contact with the bodywork.
When the owner returned from a business trip, he found the consequences of their curiosity scattered across nearly every panel. According to local reports, the Ferrari suffered deep scratches to the hood, roof, fenders, taillights, and glass, while the front bumper was also cracked.
Given Ferrari’s famously expensive repair costs, the owner chose not to send the car to an official dealership. He estimated factory repairs would have exceeded 100,000 yuan (about $14,700). Instead, he took the 488 GTB to an independent body shop, where aftermarket replacement parts helped reduce the final repair bill to 29,360 yuan—roughly $4,300.
Armed with repair invoices, the owner met the children’s parents twice at a local police station in hopes of reaching a settlement. According to the South China Morning Post, the parents offered just 5,000 yuan (around $730) in compensation and reportedly did not bring the children to apologize for the damage.
The negotiations quickly stalled.
Unwilling to accept the reduced offer, the Ferrari owner has now filed a civil lawsuit seeking reimbursement for the full cost of the repairs.
Under Chinese law, children younger than 14 cannot be subjected to administrative detention, meaning civil litigation is effectively the only legal avenue available for property owners seeking compensation from a child’s legal guardians.
The damaged car is no ordinary sports car. Produced between 2015 and 2020, the Ferrari 488 GTB marked a major milestone for Maranello by replacing the naturally aspirated 458 Italia with a 3.9-liter twin-turbocharged V8 producing 670 horsepower. It was later succeeded by the F8 Tributo before Ferrari transitioned to hybrid power with the 296 GTB.
According to the owner, he purchased the Ferrari new for 3.6 million yuan—approximately $530,000—and, until this incident, it had never suffered so much as a scratch.
For most owners, protecting a Ferrari means avoiding potholes, parking far away from shopping carts, and keeping up with meticulous maintenance. Few would think to add “playground supervision” to the list.
Source: South China Morning Post via YouTube