That question in the headline was the one on the minds of dozens of Lamborghini owners Saturday during an enthusiast drive and Q&A session with representatives of the Italian super-car company.

The half-day event began for several dozen Lamborghini owners with a drive from Crystal Cove Promenade, up through Silverado Canyon and finishing at the Fairmont Hotel in Newport Beach.

Automobili Lamborghinis president and CEO, Stephan Winkelmann, was to be on hand to speak with the 120 or so attendees, but had to fly back to Europe due to an emergency, said Pietro Frigerio, Chief Operating Officer, Automobili Lamborghini America LLC.

He declined to elaborate, only saying that Winkelmann had just flown into Southern California on Friday night, and had to leave abruptly Saturday morning after an urgent call from Lamborghinis corporate parent Audi AG, a subsidiary of Volkswagen group in Germany.

That left Frigerio to address the crowd, and the first thing he did was try to answer the question on everyones mind:

I want to open and close the book on this subject, he said. We are doing everything possible to bring (an O.C. Lamborghini dealership) back.

Lamborghini OC, which was the worlds largest dealer of the exotic cars, was closed abruptly last November under mysterious conditions.

In addition to running the still-vacant location in Santa Ana thats highly visible from the 55 Freeway, Keuylian also operated a Lamborghini franchise in Calabasas that is also closed.

We are facing interesting and challenging legal proceedings, Frigerio continued, then repeated We are doing everything possible to bring it back.

He would not give a time table or comment further on the matter before taking questions from the audience.

One attendee asked if Lamborghini could just open up a temporary shop in Orange County or even just a service facility, so Orange County Lambo owners wont have to travel to the Beverly Hills dealership to get work performed.

We cannot just go in with a service facility, Frigerio said. Its linked to legal issues.

Another Lamborghini owner asked about the fate of the Calabasas location, and whether it might become another type of high-end car dealership, such as one selling Ferraris.

Frigerio was equally vague about what might happen there, only saying, It could be. Everyone is (allowed) to apply.





Its owner, Vik Keuylian, would not say why the dealership was closed at first, but went on to plead guilty in May to a wire fraud scheme in which he bilked $12 million from Volkswagen Credit Inc., the finance company that fronted him the money to sell the cars. He is set for sentencing Sept. 28 and could face up to 30 years in prison, plus a $1 million fine.

Windsor billionaire sues to recover $1.5 million paid for undelivered Bugatti

 

  By Dalson Chen, The Windsor StarAugust 31, 2009    

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Billionaire Windsor industrialist Barry Zekelman has found out money cant buy everything after he unsuccessfully tried to buy a Bugatti Veyron one of the most expensive and exclusive production cars in the world.

Photograph by: The Windsor Star, The Windsor Star

Billionaire Windsor industrialist Barry Zekelman has found out money cant buy everything after he unsuccessfully tried to buy a Bugatti Veyron one of the most expensive and exclusive production cars in the world.

Now Zekelman is suing the cars dealers and makers for allegedly failing to refund the $1.5 million he paid in full.

Bugatti Troy has breached its contract with Mr. Zekelman by failing to deliver the 2009 Italian Red Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Coupe, and by failing to refund Mr. Zekelman the $1,553,354.57 he paid for the vehicle, say court documents related to the lawsuit.

These allegations have yet to be proven in court.

The car Zekelman wanted has a 1,001 horsepower engine and a top speed in excess of 400 km/h. It can accelerate from a zero to 100 km/h in 2.5 seconds.

There are only about 200 of the cars in the world.

Bugattis promotional literature touts the 16.4 Coupe as a super sports car.

The company says it is possibly the most sophisticated production vehicle of all times.

Bugatti Veyron owners include oil tycoons and celebrities such as fashion designer Ralph Lauren and American Idols Simon Cowell.

According to the lawsuit, Zekelman walked into a Bugatti dealership in Troy, Mich., in September 2008 and spoke to a salesman about buying a 2009 model of the 16.4 Coupe.

The lawsuit states that Zekelman made a $428,000 advance payment within days of visiting the dealership. On Dec. 15, Zekelman wired the remaining $1.1 million.

A week after the money was wired, Zekelman received e-mails from the dealership informing him that the 2009 model of the 16.4 Coupe would never be available as Bugatti had stopped making the cars in 2008.

A 2008 model was offered to Zekelman. He refused and demanded a full refund.

More than eight months later, court documents state that Bugatti has still not given back the money.

Remarkable. Thats how I viewed it when I first saw (the situation), said Steve Cohen of Cohen, Lerner & Rabinovitz, the law firm representing Zekelman.

Mr. Zekelmans position is fairly simple. He paid money for something he didnt get. He will get his money back, because thats the only fair thing to do.

Asked if the company has offered any explanations for why they are withholding a full refund, Cohen said their answers have been insubstantial. In their pleadings, they have made certain positions that claim they dont have to return all of it only parts of it, Cohen said.

There are disputes, and we really dont understand them.

Bugatti Automobiles SAS is owned by Volkswagen. Cohen said the fact that the company is based in Europe has posed problems to the progress of the law suit.

Meanwhile, staff at the Bugatti dealership in Troy refused to comment about the situation.

Ross Dressel, the salesman who dealt with Zekelman and is named in the lawsuit, said: Youd have to speak to somebody else. I dont have an answer for you.

A man who identified himself as Dressels sales manager said: I dont know anything about it. Youll have to talk to our lawyers.

But the sales manager said he does not know who is representing Bugatti in the case. You got to understand, were so far down the food chain, we dont know these things.

Zekelman and his two brothers inherited the steel tube manufacturing company Atlas Tube from their father in 1984.

The Zekelman family has since sold the company for more than $3 billion.

Last summer, Barry Zekelman, 42, and his wife bought a $14-million vacation home in Phoenix, Arizona.

The Zekelmans have also made numerous philanthropic contributions. In 2007, the family donated $10 million to the Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/cars/Windsor+billionaire+sues+recover+paid+undelivered+Bugatti/1948699/story.html