Usually, when a supercar owner gets themselves into dumb trouble, it’s a chance for us to all come together and point and laugh. Speeding tickets, aquatic adventures, we all love to see a rich asshole lose. But one Staten Island Lamborghini owner, ticketed for his Huracan Performante’s exhaust noise, actually has a point in claiming the ticket is unjust.
Anthony Aquilino, supercar enthusiast, got a ticket for excessive noise in his Huracan Performante while driving through Manhattan. Aquilino claims the $800 fine — which will increase for repeat offenses — is unaffordable and unreasonable. While the claim that someone who owns a six-figure supercar can’t afford an $800 ticket is laughable, the argument that the ticket is unreasonable holds more water. Aquilino’s car, you see, is bone stock.
If a car is sold with a factory exhaust, with the full approval of all necessary regulatory bodies, it’s not really reasonable to go ticketing that car for being too loud without aftermarket mods. If you want to quiet cars, you’re welcome to, but that regulation should happen long before a car can possibly make it out to a buyer. Aquilino, in speaking to the New York Post, made a similar argument:
“The fine amount is $800 for the first offense. The second offense is $1,700 & the third offense is $2,700,” Aquilino told The Post. “How can anybody afford that? Especially if the city wants to move these cameras all across the five boroughs.”
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The only way for him to avoid the fines in the future, his suit states, would be to stop driving the two-seater supercar, “which is undoubtedly unreasonable,” his suit reads.
“The only remedy would be to sell the vehicle,” Aquilino said. “How else do you fight the fine?”
Since he didn’t intentionally modify his car to produce more noise, he can’t legally be held accountable for any noise, he contends — and the car is otherwise legal to drive on city streets and passes inspection every year.
“I feel that if the residents are upset by noise and the city wants to crack down on noise — I don’t disagree with it,” Aquilino said. “I disagree with if a car is unmodified and you want to fine them.
New York has recently cracked down on loud vehicles, with the SLEEP act providing additional enforcement for preexisting noise limits — either by decibel level or by distance from the vehicle at which the exhaust is audible. That law, however, doesn’t seem to account for whether a car is stock or modified. It’s possible to buy a vehicle off the showroom floor and immediately receive a ticket stating that the car — as sold to you — is not legal to operate in the city of New York.
Obviously, there are ways around this. You can short-shift in traffic, keep your revs down, and only wind the engine out once you reach Bear Mountain. That’s likely even the intent behind the law: Make drivers operate their cars in a quieter manner while in the city. But, that’s a less reasonable regulation than simply fighting for quieter exhausts from the factory.
