Kids Used A $530,000 Ferrari As A Slide, Sparking Lawsuit | Carscoops
Surveillance footage of boys sliding down a half-million-dollar Ferrari has drawn over 60 million views and plenty of anger
July 2, 2026 at 03:46
Imagine coming home from a business trip to find your shiny supercar had been treated as a playground, which is what happened to a Ferrari owner in China who is now taking legal action against the parents of the children who ran up thousands in damage to his prized possession. Being a father himself, he says he first tried to settle the matter quietly before the negotiations fell apart.
The incident took place in the city of Kunming, in the Yunnan province of southwestern China, in late May. Four neighborhood kids, reportedly all under 10 years old, spotted a red Ferrari 488 GTB parked in an outdoor space, and its aerodynamic silhouette was apparently enough to spark their curiosity, which is where the trouble started.
Caught On Camera
CCTV footage that surfaced on social media shows the boys clambering onto the mid-engined Ferrari, taking a short break on the windshield, climbing across the roof and then using the rear glass as a slide before the view of the V8 underneath stopped them cold. They also appear to prod the bodywork with long bamboo poles.
More: 3-Year Old Scratches Ten Cars At Audi Dealership, Costs Dad Nearly $10,000
When the owner returned from his work trip, he reportedly found deep scratches across the hood, roof, fenders, taillights and windows, along with a cracked front bumper. Even so, being a dad himself, he allegedly tried to handle the situation with some leniency.
Speaking to local news outlets, the owner said he avoided taking the supercar to a Ferrari dealer, reckoning that repairs there would cost over 100,000 yuan ($14,700). Instead, he visited local bodyshops and went with aftermarket parts, landing on a more sensible bill of 29,360 yuan ($4,300).
The Parents Wouldn’t Pay Up
Receipts in hand, the owner took them to the police station, where he met with the boys’ parents across two sessions. However, according to a report from the South China Morning Post, the parents only put forward 5,000 yuan ($730) in compensation and didn’t have their kids apologize. That pushed the Ferrari owner to walk away from the negotiations and pursue a civil lawsuit seeking the full repair amount.
More: Kids Break Into CarMax Dealer, Play Demolition Derby, Wreck 20 Cars, Cause $800,000 Damages!
Under Chinese law, children below the age of 14 are exempt from administrative detention, leaving the civil court system as the only route for property owners to seek accountability from the legal guardians.
About The 488 GTB
As for the Italian supercar, the Ferrari 488 GTB carries a twin-turbo V8 producing 661 hp (492 kW / 670 PS). It stayed in production between 2015 and 2020, replacing the 458 Italia before passing the torch to the F8 Tributo and the electrified 296 GTB. The Chinese owner says he paid 3.6 million yuan ($530,000) for it new and had never scratched it before.
Ferrari 488 GTB
Follow us on
Thanos Pappas
Associate Editor
Thanos Pappas, a product design engineer by trade, has been wading through automotive journalism for... Read full bio