Glad to help a bit. I may be a McLaren F1 fan first and foremost but I would definitely love to see more Zondas here. I'm familiar with the silver coupe and red roadster that were part of Benny Caiola's collection but am afraid I have no inside info to share about how they got here.

Here's a shot of his Roadster at Lime Rock Park in 2006 wearing a NY dealer plate along with an Italian plate for "citizens living in other countries":



Given the plate scenario it seems more likely that the car was imported using Box #5 of the NHTSA's HS-7 form which states:

That's typically the easiest way to import a car that does not belong here. I knew someone who used this method repeatedly over several years for one particular car, exporting it to Canada each time he needed to renew the exemption. There was rumor they might be cracking down on the abuse of that method but I've got no first hand knowledge either way.

I just skimmed a very old thread on a similar subject at FerrariChat:

What's the deal with Zonda's in the US?

...where it is claimed that the silver coupe was sold as far back as 2006 to someone supposedly connected with the Hooters empire. It also mentions the car was seen at Classic-Coach around that time - quoting: "the Zonda was there to pass DOT regualtion".

Not sure what they'd be doing with it there as they are not listed as Registered Importer for the DOT or more importantly an ICI for the EPA. The car may still be somewhere in the USA but that's hard to say. It might not hurt to pick up the phone and call them to see what info they might be willing to share.

Technically a car imported using the HS-7 form can't be sold, so perhaps the silver coupe came in a different way?

Wyclef's car was sold to a new owner in Scottsdale, AZ in late 2005. The last evidence I've seen of the car being in the USA was when it made an appearance at SEMA 2007 in the Nitto Tires booth. Recent rumor is that the car may now be somewhere in Florida but I've not seen evidence of that. Wyclef's cars were often spotted in Florida so it could be a mixing of stories. The plate the car wore while in Arizona was the same one that had previously been fitted to the owner's McLaren F1 which he'd already sold. No idea if the plate transfer was legit or not?

Truthfully though some states make it quite easy to get a plate on a vehicle so just because something wears a license plate that doesn't always tell the full story. There's a running joke on another forum I read about the potential to register a Manatee in the State of Florida if you could just put wheels on it.

It's importing it legally which is the real challenge and so far I'm not aware of any Zondas that are here permanently and legally, free and clear for the owner to do with them as they wish. Achieving that goal will probably require mucho dinero.

>8^)
ER

 

^^
AGREE

This is coming from a guy who's danced this dance with another car not sold in the US. If you're doing it legit, you need to have at least 20-30% just get the car through customs.

 

Silver what were you trying to import and were you succesful?

 

CLK DTM.

Yes. It's (almost) perfect.

 

Wow lucky guy

 

What'd I do wrong?