On Feb. 3, Deadmau5 posted photos to his Facebook page, validating the rumors of a Nyan Cat-wrapped Ferrari 458 Italia. He cleverly named the car Purrari.
The Canadian music producer vinyl-wrapped his Ferrari with the majestic flying space cat, Nyan Cat. The car’s detailing, hands down, beats any wrap done on a car. Intricately designed, it is a stroke of genius. The Purrari has Nyan Cat flying on both sides, a jumping cat replacing the famed prancing horse, and on the back, he has copied Ferrari lettering, spelling out “Purrari”.
The car was a hit with most, but left Ferrari fuming.
Early this summer, the wrapped car went up for sale for $380,000. Because of this, Deadmau5 received a cease-and-desist letter from the lawyers of Ferrari USA. While the contents of the letter are not fully known, the letter has since compelled him to peel the intricate wrap off the car.
On August 27, Deadmau5 tweeted his statement to Ferrari: “I wonder if the jackass lawyer at @FerrariUSA who sent us a “cease-and-desist” letter over the Purrari is un-butthurt now that I unwrapped [it]”.
Ferrari’s goal is to be the most revered car manufacturer in the world. The company has turned down thousands of people who have the money to purchase their latest hybrid/hypercar, the LaFerrari, solely due to the fact that the purchasers did not already own several Ferraris.
While it may be the case that Ferrari wants prestige associated with the brand, the car no longer belongs to their company, and Deadmau5 was selling it privately.
And now there is a world where the Purrari does not exist. However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
On Sept. 3, Nissan tweeted Deadmau5 photos of a Nyan Cat wrapped GT-R, offering it as a replacement to his beloved Purrari.
On the back right, under the GT-R logo, Nissan added a custom badge reading “Spec,” and right next to it, the Deadmau5 helmet logo. The photos were photoshopped by Nissan, and the car has not yet been manufactured.
Thanks to Nissan for coming to the rescue, and showing us all that every car manufacturer is not as uptight as Ferrari.