Lamborghini’s feud with one of its Chicago dealers has gone from tense phone calls to a full-blown federal lawsuit, with the Italian automaker accusing Gold Coast Exotic Imports of running a secret “shadow program” that funneled dozens of new Lamborghinis to brokers and flippers. Company audits flagged at least 32 suspect transactions in 2023, and Lamborghini says it has paid the dealership more than $4 million in incentive cash since 2019. Gold Coast insists it did nothing wrong, claims Lamborghini actually owes it hundreds of thousands of dollars, and says both sides are talking even as a trial date is circled for December 2026.
The complaint’s specifics
Automobili Lamborghini America filed the case in January 2024, accusing Gold Coast of falsifying buyer information in the company’s LOOM reporting system and mislabeling sales as retail deals in order to trigger bonus payments. The lawsuit describes sample transactions, including cars the dealer reported as sold to a former Chicago professional athlete and a Minnesota clinic CEO that, according to registration and internal records, actually wound up with independent resellers and a “known convicted criminal.” Those examples are laid out in filings available on Justia.
Dealer pushes back
Gold Coast has formally denied the accusations and taken its own fight to the Illinois Motor Vehicle Review Board, arguing that Lamborghini improperly withheld reimbursements for marketing efforts and showroom upgrades. The dealership says the lawsuit is less about paperwork and more about pressure to push out longtime president Joseph Perillo Sr. Representatives for both sides told the Chicago Sun-Times they have been discussing a possible settlement.
Alleged incentives and kickbacks
Lamborghini’s complaint says Gold Coast collected more than $4 million through the automaker’s Dealer Incentive Bonus Program starting in 2019. On top of that, the suit alleges the dealership demanded off-the-books payments, in some cases up to $150,000, so certain buyers could jump the line for scarce, limited-run models. According to the filings, those alleged kickbacks and the bonus structure are at the heart of the dispute. Those figures and accusations appear in the lawsuit itself and in coverage that walks through the court record from MotorBiscuit.
Why brands police allocations
Automakers like Lamborghini keep a tight grip on who buys their new cars. Officially, sales are supposed to go to real retail customers, not to middlemen whose whole business is flipping rare vehicles for a premium. The theory is that strict allocations protect warranty and service expectations, help keep prices from spiraling even higher, and preserve the “exclusive” feel buyers are paying for. That enforcement framework underpins Lamborghini’s claim that selling into a broker network erodes the brand and the customer experience, as described in industry analysis and court records. Road & Track offers broader industry context on how these allocation battles usually play out.
Legal stakes and what’s next
The suit accuses Gold Coast of fraud and breach of contract and survived a motion to dismiss last year, which means the real factual fight is still ahead if there is no settlement. According to the federal docket, the case remains active and the parties have told the judge they can be ready for trial in December 2026 if negotiations fall through; procedural filings are available through Justia.
However it ends, the clash has already spotlighted just how aggressively high-end carmakers police their dealer networks and how far some retailers are allegedly willing to go to get ultra-rare cars into favored hands. Expect more filings, more paperwork, and plenty of local gossip as Lamborghini and Gold Coast either cut a deal or gear up for a long, public trial.
