But his lawyers say it's a 'frivolous' action

Jerry Seinfeld is being sued by a company that claims it bought his 1958 Porsche for $1.5million only to find it was fake.

Jersey-based Fica Frio – which means 'chill out' in Portuguese – filed a lawsuit in Manhattan against the comedian and classic car nut.

Court papers say the company's representatives brought a 1958 Porsche Carrera Speedster at auction in Florida in 2016.

It was said to have been the only car finished at the factory in the colour Auratium Green and had been owned by Seinfeld since 2012.

The lawsuit says: 'The vehicle, however, is not authentic and is not the automobile that Mr Seinfeld and the vehicle summary provided at the auction represented.'

Fica Frio's lawyers say that after their client told the comic the car was not what they expected, he left a voicemail message offering to cancel the sale and pay to have the vehicle sent back.

The comic – who hosts the series Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee – is said to have said he wanted to 'offer my apology for this nuisance and assure you that you will be completely indemnified in full and not have to keep the car and get all your money back... I did want to apologise to you personally'.

But the lawsuit alleges: 'Mr Seinfeld breached that oral agreement, as he has not returned Fica Frio’s purchase price nor paid to Fico Frio its costs incurred,' says the papers.

They say the discrepancy came to light when they tried to sell the car on.

As well as the cost of the vehicle and of returning it to Seinfeld, Fica Frio is seeking 'punitive and exemplary damages' over what they say was a misrepresentation.

But Seinfeld's lawyer, Orin Snyder, has said the comedian acted in good faith.

In a statement to reporters in the US he said: 'He has asked Fica Frio for evidence to substantiate the allegations. Fica Frio ignored Jerry and instead filed this frivolous lawsuit'.

However, he added his client 'is willing to do what's right and fair, and we are confident the court will support the need for an outside evaluator to examine the provenance of the car'.

Published: 3 Feb 2019