Tag Archives: Ferrari

SOCIAL MEDIA

WhistlinDiesel’s Flaming Ferrari F8 Just Landed Him in Hotter Water—With the State of Tennessee

For most YouTubers, setting a Ferrari on fire generates views. For Cody Detwiler—better known to his millions of fans as WhistlinDiesel—it may have generated something else: a felony charge.

The Tennessee-based content creator, famous for bending, breaking, and outright obliterating expensive machinery in the name of internet entertainment, was arrested this week in Williamson County. The charge? Tax evasion related to his 2020 Ferrari F8 Tributo—yes, the same one he bought, drove, wrecked, and eventually filmed fully engulfed in flames.

And in true WhistlinDiesel fashion, the video hasn’t stopped working overtime.

A Burning Ferrari and a Very Interesting License Plate

In the now-infamous clip, the F8 burns to the ground wearing Montana plates—a detail that likely caught the eye of more than just fans.

Montana LLC registration has long been the worst-kept secret among wealthy car enthusiasts who prefer to skip paying their home state’s sales tax. Registering your supercar under an out-of-state LLC is perfectly legal in Montana. In places like Tennessee, however, authorities are far less amused when residents lean on that loophole.

And according to the indictment, that may be exactly what investigators think happened.

The Charges

Detwiler and WhistlinDiesel LLC are each facing one count of tax evasion, a Class E felony under Tennessee Code § 67-1-1440(g). The statute covers any attempt to “evade or defeat any tax due the state” when the amount exceeds $500.

The indictment mirrors that threshold precisely, alleging that Detwiler tried to avoid “sales tax due on the purchase of a 2020 Ferrari F8 Tributo.” What isn’t clear is whether Tennessee believes:

  • he never registered the car in the state at all,
    or
  • he attempted to dodge taxes by registering it under a Montana LLC.

For context: WhistlinDiesel LLC is indeed registered in Montana, a state that has practically turned tax-friendly vehicle registration into an industry.

With more states cracking down on the practice, it’s no shock Tennessee has taken an interest.

The Arrest and the YouTube Response

Detwiler was arrested and booked before being released, then took to social media—naturally—posting clips of the arrest along with the caption:

“Won so big they thought I was cheating. (100% real not AI)”

He later added:

“I didn’t do ANYTHING.”

His trademark bravado remains intact, but the legal situation is very real. Detwiler is scheduled for arraignment on November 19.

We have reached out to Detwiler for further comment and will update the story if he responds.

What This Means for the YouTube Wild West

The case taps into a larger trend: popular automotive YouTubers pushing boundaries—mechanical, financial, and now legal—for the sake of content. When a Ferrari burns down for millions of viewers, it’s entertainment. When it burns wearing plates that may hint at tax strategy, it becomes evidence.

As for WhistlinDiesel, the man who once turned a $400,000 supercar into scrap for views is now dealing with something far harder to total: a felony charge that won’t simply melt away.

Source: WhistlinDiesel via YouTube

Auctions

The Ferrari Time Capsule: Phil Bachman’s Legendary 48-Car Collection Heads to Auction

In January 2026, the automotive world will witness something that doesn’t happen twice in a lifetime: one of the rarest private Ferrari collections ever assembled will cross the block at Mecum Auctions. Forty-eight Ferraris—each one a jewel of Maranello’s history—are set to find new homes, marking the end of an era and the beginning of another.

For anyone who has ever dreamed of owning a low-mileage Italian thoroughbred, this is the stuff of dreams. The collection spans nearly seven decades of Ferrari’s evolution, from the 1950s to the 2010s, and reads like a love letter to the Prancing Horse itself.

This remarkable assembly was the life’s work of Phil Bachman, an American businessman who built his fortune through a network of dealerships representing brands as diverse as Pontiac, Cadillac, Nissan, and even DeLorean. Bachman passed away in August, leaving behind not just a business legacy, but one of the most meticulously curated Ferrari stables on Earth.

His obsession began in 1984, when he purchased his first Ferrari. From there, his passion evolved into a collection so deliberate, so perfectly preserved, that it borders on the surreal. These aren’t just Ferraris—they’re time capsules.

The oldest car in the collection, a 1953 Ferrari 166 MM/53 Vignale Spyder, shows just 37,306 kilometers. It’s joined by two masterpieces from the 1960s: a 250 GT/L Berlinetta Lusso and a 275 GTB/4 Alloy, both icons of balance and proportion that defined Ferrari’s golden age.

The 1970s chapter of Bachman’s story swells with 11 cars, including a 1975 365 GT4 BB that’s barely been driven—only 443 kilometers separate it from its factory debut.

By the 1980s, Bachman’s tastes had grown bolder, and his garage followed suit. A 1989 Testarossa, its odometer frozen at just 413 km, will no doubt ignite a bidding war. And then comes the transition from analog to digital—Ferrari’s entry into the modern supercar era.

Two Ferrari F40s headline the 1990s portion of the sale, both 1992 models painted in that quintessential Rosso Corsa red. One has 734 km, the other 1,392 km, and both are expected to fetch eye-watering sums. But the rarities keep coming: an F50 with just 404 km, an Enzo showing 1,038 km, and a pair of 360 Challenge Stradales with only a few hundred clicks on their clocks.

Perhaps the most striking example of Bachman’s singular vision is the only factory-painted yellow Ferrari FXX ever built—a track monster so unique it stands apart even in this company. It’s flanked by a matching 430 Scuderia and 16M Spider, both barely exercised.

The finale of this automotive symphony arrives with the 599 GTO (166 km), the 599 SA Aperta (277 km), and the ultimate duo: a LaFerrari Coupe (253 km) and an even rarer LaFerrari Aperta (154 km).

Together, they form an unbroken narrative of Ferrari’s relentless pursuit of speed, beauty, and engineering perfection. Every car is preserved in near-museum condition, a snapshot of the brand’s evolution—frozen in time but ready to roar once again.

In an age when most Ferraris are driven, traded, or tracked, Bachman’s collection stands as something different: an act of devotion. When the auctioneer’s gavel falls in January, the world won’t just be bidding on cars—it’ll be bidding on history.

Source: Mecum

Tuning

Novitec Turns Ferrari 12Cilindri Into the Loud, Unfiltered Supercar Enthusiasts Wanted

The German tuning powerhouse Novitec has done it again. Few names are as closely linked with Ferrari refinement as the Stetten-based specialists, and their latest project—the Ferrari 12Cilindri—proves exactly why.

When Maranello unveiled the 12Cilindri last May, it was billed as a love letter to tradition: a naturally aspirated, 6.5-liter V-12 sending 830 horsepower at a screaming 9,250 rpm to the rear wheels through an eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox. No hybrid assist, no electrification—just twelve cylinders of mechanical glory. It was Ferrari at its purest.

But there was one problem. In the age of tightening EU noise regulations, the 12Cilindri arrived too polite. Enthusiasts praised its performance yet quietly lamented that the car didn’t sound like a proper Ferrari V-12 should.

Enter Novitec, armed with a solution—and a set of Inconel pipes that could wake the dead.

The tuner swapped out the stock exhaust system for a custom adaptive exhaust crafted from lightweight Inconel, a material typically used in Formula 1 for its heat resistance and resonance. The result is a wilder, more operatic exhaust note, one that restores the goosebump factor Ferrari’s fans crave. The car now sounds every bit as exotic as it looks—snarling, climbing, and then howling past 9,000 rpm with the kind of mechanical theater that modern regulations have tried to silence.

Novitec didn’t stop there. The subtle black panel between the headlights has been replaced by a body-colored insert, giving the car a cleaner, more cohesive face. Around the body, carbon fiber accents sharpen the already sculpted lines, while a new set of Vossen NF11 forged wheels—21 inches up front, 22 at the rear—fill the arches perfectly. Wrapped in 275/35 and 325/30 performance rubber, they complement a chassis that now sits 30 millimeters lower thanks to Novitec’s adjustable suspension setup.

The performance numbers remain theoretical until Novitec finishes tuning the V-12 itself, but the company promises an even greater output than the factory’s 830 hp. If history is any guide, expect that figure to edge northward once development wraps up. The standard 12Cilindri already posts supercar benchmarks—0 to 100 km/h in under 2.9 seconds and a top speed beyond 340 km/h—so any gain here would push it into the realm of absurdity.

And knowing Novitec, this might only be the beginning. Rumors suggest that a widened N-Largo variant is already in the pipeline, bringing the tuner’s trademark widebody stance to Ferrari’s latest flagship.

Someone once said Ferrari should ban Mansory from touching its cars. After seeing what Novitec has done with the 12Cilindri, we’d argue Ferrari should hand them the keys instead.

Source: Novitec