John Cena and Ford Motor Co. have settled the lawsuit regarding the WWE star’s breach of contract when he sold his ultra-rare Ford GT before owning the supercar for at least 24 months.
Jalopnik reports Cena’s legal team settled with Ford for an undisclosed amount, and that the Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker would donate the settlement money to charity. Automotive News confirmed this news thanks to a reported email from the automaker.
Late last year, Ford sued Cena, who was hand-picked for the opportunity to buy the car, after the latter failed to maintain ownership for two years when he sold the GT for about $500,000. The case went back and forth for a little bit when the 16-time WWE world champion claimed that Ford failed to restrict him from selling the 2017 Ford GT in the final contract.
“I love the Ford GT and apologize to Ford, and encourage others who own the car to respect the contract,” Cena said in an emailed statement to Jalopnik.
“I am pleased we could resolve the matter outside of court, and that a worthy charity will benefit from one of the most iconic cars in the world.”
Cena was selected from thousands of applicants for the chance to buy the highly sought-after Ford GT as the vehicles are made on a limited basis. In its initial lawsuit, Ford claimed that Cena not only made a large profit on the sale, but took “two years of ambassadorship and brand value” from the company in the process.
The Dearborn-based automaker also said that because of Cena’s actions, “it lost the ability to control the reputation of its brand, the integrity of the program and selection process.”
Cena was being sued for breach of contract, fraud, silent fraud, innocent misrepresentation and unjust enrichment.
The outlet also reported — back in May — that Ford is suing the dealership that Cena sold the car to in Chico, California-based New Autos Inc.
As it stands, the outlet reports it is unclear who ended up with Cena’s Ford GT.
Ford is manufacturing the cars at a low-volume facility in Markham, Ontario. The 2017 Ford GTs were first unveiled at the North American International Auto Show in 2015. The automaker said it would only produce 250 of the Ford GTs each year, so only a fraction of the reported 6,000-plus applicants received one of the $400,000-plus cars.
It is rear-wheel drive, mid-engine GT is being made with carbon fiber, aluminum and other lightweight materials.
The Ford GT comes equipped with a new, twin-turbo, 3.5L EcoBoost V6 that will produce more than 600 horsepower. As many as eight exterior colors are available with seven different stripe colors.
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