There are more and more stories sufacing of people who have purchased old cars because the owner thought the car was a something-or-other compared to what it was. If the owner of the Wildfire was told by the seller of the car that it was a Darrin prototype, when the owner finds out the truth he may have a very good case to sue the seller for fraud and mis-representation. The business owner who did not want to "burst the bubble" could also be named as a co-conspiritor for witholding the info that the car was not a Darrin.
Caveat Emptor (let the buyer beware) and the idea of performing due dilligence to determine what you are actually looking at (and buying) used to work as a defense in the courts. These days, however, courts are not always accepting these concepts.