The World's Most Expensive Car... Wrecks

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed)
Apr 1st 2010 at 8:01AM

Here at Luxist we write a lot about the world's most expensive cars. Now the London Telegraph has compiled a list of the world's most expensive car wrecks, following Jackie Stewart's trashing of a Pagani Zonda supercar in Scotland, which my colleague Noah Joseph reported on last week. Here's the paper's list of flaming Ferraris, burned-out Bugattis and other smashed-up supercars. The values given are those at the time the crashes occurred as calculated by the Telegraph. Let's hope all the insurance was in order:

1. 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO: $28.5 million

The car's British owner, who has never been named, was participating in an historic car race when he crashed into the back of another car in slow traffic. He had bought the car at auction in 2008 for $28.5 million.

2. 1961 Ferrari 250 GT Spyder: $10 million.

The 1961 car was bought at auction in 2008 for $10 million. But the unfortunate owner, who has not been named, stored the car near a beach in California and it was wrecked in a hurricane and literally buried in the sand.

3. 1959 Ferrari 250 GT TDF: $1.65 million

The unnamed owner of this $1.65 million car, nicknamed "Tour de France", crashed into a wall during the Shell Ferrari-Maserati Historic Challenge in 2003 at the infamous Lime Rock race track in, Connecticut, United States.

4. Ferrari Enzo: $1.3 million

Swedish businessman Bo Stefan "Fat Steven" Eriksson was involved in the spectacular accident in 2006, when he lost control of his $1.3 million Ferrari at 196 mph on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu and crashed into a pole. He later pleaded no contest to a drunken driving charge in connection with the crash and embezzling two other fancy cars and illegally possessing a gun.

5. Bugatti Veyron: $1.25 million

Away Soni, 39, was driving his millionaire older brother's brand new rare car at 100 mph in the pouring rain along a 40 mph stretch of the B375 near Chertsey, Surrey, UK in March 2007 when he collided with a Vauxhall Astra.

6. Jaguar XJ220: $1 million

The unnamed owner crashed this car at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the world's biggest historic motorsport event. The front bonnet crumpled in the crash.

7. Pagani Zonda: $1 million

The car's owner crashed his vehicle in Hong Kong in December last year when an out of control truck forced him into a row of parked cars. He had been driving back from racing track event.

8. McLaren F1: $960,000

Rowan Atkinson, the actor, in October 1999 crashed his 240 mph machine, one of the fastest production cars in the world at the time.The former star of Blackadder and Mr Bean collided with the rear of a Metro driven by Margaret Greenhalgh, 62, as he was driving north on the A6 near Lancaster, UK.

9. Pagani Zonda S: $790,000

The unnamed driver crashed the supercar after spinning out of control on a test run down a country lane near Aberdeen. The final insurance bill could be more than £300,000 once all the repairs are completed, Aviva said, making it one of the highest ever payouts in the UK.

10. Mercedes-Benz 300 SL "Gullwing": $700,000

An unnamed owner of the beautiful classic car was involved in a crash with a Seattle council landscape truck, which appropriately enough had the name "impact landscaping" on the side.

Tags: Bugatti, Bugatti Veyron, car crash, Ferrari, Ferrari 250 GTO, Ferrari Enzo, McLaren F1, Pagani, supercars

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Wealth, Crimes and Misdemeanors

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Reader Comments (Page 2 of 6)

jim Apr 5th 2010 2:29AM

O O O sorry.... I ment...I mean....Himmiacane.

rbrtkyte Apr 5th 2010 4:46AM

Ever since Florida started having them ..They just turn in the opposite direction.Nothing new

michael Apr 4th 2010 9:24PM

That's what I said!

synicalkiss Apr 4th 2010 8:17PM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_California_hurricanes

kbtx71 Apr 4th 2010 8:19PM

Global warming get with the program

steffenjobbs Apr 4th 2010 8:23PM

Hardly much of a big deal. Those people are all rich and undoubtedly the cars are fully insured. They'll likely replace these messed up cars with far better ones.

RYAN Apr 4th 2010 8:27PM

I remeber that ferrari crash,damn 1 million dollar car,they made 399 of them and he broke it in half..............UNREAL......but there is NO EXCUSE for crashing the classic sports cars,they should be driven in the middle of no place and the sunny days only,no way you should race a classic sports car.......gheez.

Leo Apr 4th 2010 10:10PM

Am sorry Ryan race cars are made to race that it.

jim Apr 5th 2010 2:59AM

Yes most assuredly......But under the following conditions

1) on a road course built to hold the vehicle on the road....
99.9999% of public roads can't hold piss in a bucket, even if it had 2 handles and you used both hands, at the speed these car travel at hit one divot/pavement seam and it's the whirligig ride for you!

2) 99.9999% of the people who own/drive these cars on the street couldn't get a piss-off going in a brewery. Yes there are the few exceptions who use to drive... I said Use To...there's an old saying "I use to do it all night...now it takes me all night"
Ferrari has the right idea....they have a new model...you can buy it, they hold it and will deliver it to a recognized track for you to drive, then they take it back to the storage area.

And last but not least...101% of the other drivers on the road can't drive for spit and their cars are mostly a waste of metal. Just watch the pro's drive against each other.....it's a rare event that doesn't bend metal and bodies and these guys are pro's.

Just because you can afford it doesn't mean you should have it. Just look at the kids face in Hong Kong....looks like he just pass a million dollar brick the hard way...

iroar883 Apr 4th 2010 8:43PM

Typical republican ultra conservative idiot getting political here and bashing the President instead of actually commenting on the article.

Rheath8718 Apr 4th 2010 9:00PM

Doesn't it strike you as being overly presumptious to think that anyone not liking the President is 1] a Republican, and 2] ultra conservative?

In my opinion it smacks of several negative personality traits, being judgmental, prone to applying stereotypes, etc,. given his approval ratings it would seem many independants are not smitten with him either.

All this being said, I concur that it is tiresome when everywhere you turn someone is making political statements in a nonpolitical arena.

hrtbraker402 Apr 4th 2010 9:15PM

yep... typical republican can't stay focused with what business is at hand, just change the subject...

Ralphy Time! Apr 4th 2010 9:21PM

"Very well said"!

Big Al Apr 4th 2010 8:55PM

It's really a shame that rich idiots are allowed to own cars like these, without having to pass some sort of intelligence test.

adam Apr 6th 2010 1:19AM

I feel like a driving test might be more beneficial. i personally don't care if the millionares kill themselves, but when they destroy beauty like these cars, that's the real crime.

OLDLOBO Apr 5th 2010 4:54AM

Not as much as Bush's, wars ,and tax cuts to the wealth.

joe Apr 4th 2010 8:50PM

thats true, im sure its just a drop in the bucket for these guys, if you can afford to drop 10 mill on a box of steel then im sure he didnt lose any sleep on it

darren Apr 4th 2010 8:58PM

I drive a bike.

Kareem Apr 4th 2010 9:02PM

I don't care if those cars are fully insured. I would be crying like a baby if I wrecked one of those cars. Money is money.

Republicanlosers Apr 4th 2010 9:07PM

Because republicans all over the country like to show their ignorance. Its nothing new. Especially when they don't get their way. Get used to it. Thats all they are good for pretty much unless you want a mass genocide. They are good for that too. The issue could be about crayola crayons and they would blame obama for it. "Its his fault that the crayons are multi-colored now. He must be impeached." LOL come on Republicans, go back in your caves until next election. Better yet, don't come back out.

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