Uhhhh - remember how the 2003 Toyota F1 car looked like the 2002 Ferrari

[vat_man]

From F1-Live:

Espionage, police search and an arrest
Ferrari attack Toyota [01/11/03 - 18:05]

It started as a joke. Many people said that the Toyota TF103 looked so much like the Ferrari F2002 (and F2003-GA) that it was nicknamed the 'Ferrari with a Toyota engine'. Now the situation is getting more serious.

A few hours ago, Gazzetta dello Sport confirmed that German police searched the residence of an Italian engineer who is actually working for Toyota and is a former (less than 2 years ago) Ferrari employee.

Following this initial search, the police went to Cologne and searched the aerodynamics department of Toyota Racing for a few hours. Computers, CD's, hard disks and a few projects were seized. According to Gazzetta dello Sport, German justice is only focusing on the Italian engineer and not directly towards Toyota (at least for now).

Police also questioned co-workers of the engineer to get more information about the activities of the man. The engineer in question was later arrested by police.

The legal procedure made by the German court was initiated following a request from an Italian prosecutor in Modena, who lodged a complaint for Industrial espionage.

 

[millencolin]

wierd.

 

[under18carbon]

*speechless*

 

[LoudMusic]

This is something I have problems with. On a much lower level we have the same issues at my advertising agency. Our company policy states that anything you create at work while employed by us belongs to the company - you have no claims to it what-so-ever. So if you leave us and go somewhere else and use an idea you had while working for us we can sue the crap out of you. Somehow that's a bunch of BS to me. Even if we don't USE the idea in a campaign, as long as we have proof that you came up with the idea while working for us, it's ours.

Same thing applies here.

 

[Roo]

Both pictures from www.ultimatecarpage.com

Ferrari F2002:

 

[Roo]

Toyota TF103:

EDIT: Damn I'm rubbish with pictures

 

[Roo]

Toyota TF103:

 

[GilesGuthrie]

I had heard rumours that CD-ROMs full of CAD drawings of Ferrari bits were available for anyone with reasonable cash to buy. It doesn't surprise me, although I think it will be tough to prove.

 

[Darin]

they look almost exactly alike. Look at the body of the toyota and the ferrari. They look really almost exactly alike.

 

[Aveiro-F1]

They have their similarities but they have their differences as well.