According to a report by the Chicago Sun-Times, Lamborghini has sued Chicago-area automotive dealership Gold Coast Exotic Imports after an audit discovered at least 32 transactions from 2023 were, in fact, sales to non-retail customers. To make matters worse, some of these sales were to unauthorized resellers and brokers with criminal history.
Lamborghini claims that they have a contract in place with Gold Coast Exotic Imports that explicitly states that the dealer can only sell vehicles to “retail customers” or other authorized dealers, the Sun-Times says — and the automaker claims in the lawsuit that Gold Coast has violated this contract by selling to brokers and resellers. These types of buyers are more interested in making money on a quick flip than experiencing the thrill of a Lamborghini V-12 at full chat.
The lawsuit claims that Gold Coast misrepresented to Lamborghini that it sold cars to a former Chicago pro athlete and the chief executive officer of a chiropractic clinic in Minnesota. Both of these buyers would be considered regular retail customers. However, these vehicles were allegedly sold to brokers “uncluding one who previously pleaded guilty in a criminal fraud case that involved selling luxury cars to drug dealers and pimps as a means of laundering money,” the suit says.
Since 2019, Gold Coast has been paid over $4 million in dealer incentive bonuses. However, the lawsuit claims that by selling Lamborghinis to non-retail customers, the dealership has violated the terms of those bonus payments.
For its part, Gold Coast filed a “notice of protest” with the Illinois Motor Vehicle Review Board three months before Lamborghini filed this lawsuit. The protest claimed that Lamborghini held back hundreds of thousands of dollars for improvements to Gold Coast’s showrooms and failed to reimburse the dealer for marketing expenses. The protest letter further claims that Lamborghini has been trying to force 81-year-old Gold Coast president Joseph Perillo Sr. out of the business. They claim that Lamborghini has said that Perillo Sr. is “too old, too difficult to deal with and has made enough money.”
This lawsuit was first filed back in 2024, but is back in the spotlight now because recently Lamborghini and Gold Coast told U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer that the sides were close to a possible agreement. However, if the two sides can’t agree, they can be ready for trial by December 2026.
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