You don't see Bugatti's everyday around here (story w/o pics)
 

Low-flying pelican prompts man to drive $2M Bugatti Veyron into La Marque lagoon | khou.com | News

Posted on November 12, 2009 at 9:03 AM

Related:
Galveston Daily News Web site

LA MARQUE — The owner of one of the world’s fastest production automobiles accidentally drove his fine-tuned, French-built car into a saltwater lagoon Wednesday.

The man, who police said was from Lufkin, was uninjured after escaping the partially submerged Bugatti Veyron as it came to rest in about 2 feet of saltwater.

The two-seater, with 16 cylinders and four turbo chargers, can reach speeds of more than 250 mph. New models sell for about $2 million.

The man, who refused to give his name, was looking at real estate in Galveston.

About 3 p.m. a low-flying pelican distracted him as he traveled north on Interstate 45 just south of the hurricane levee near Omega Bay.

The man jerked the wheel, dropped his cell phone, and the car’s front tire left the frontage road and entered a muddy patch, which foiled his attempt to maneuver away from the lagoon.

The Veyron’s powerful engine gurgled like an outboard motor for about 15 minutes before it died.

Police and firefighters blocked the frontage road until MCH Towing employee Gilbert Harrison carefully wenched the car away from riprap and onto the soft, muddy bank.

It’s the rarest car in the world, not something you can just replace, the man said.

An Associated Press story in October mentioned a 2006 model Veyron for sale in Jonesboro, Ark., with an asking price of $1.25 million.

One of the prospective buyers was from Texas.

That Bugatti Veyron was one of only 200 made and one of only about 15 in the United States, the AP reported.

This story was brought to you thanks to khou.com's partnership with The Galveston County Daily News

Bugatti's for sale in Jonesboro Ar? Bought by a man from Lufkin Tx.? Meth sales must be through the roof.

Why did they put the part in about dropping the cell phone?

Don't you think a person that can purchase a Veyron knows better than to admit he was on the phone?

Honestly it was only 2ft of water... He wasn't going to drown... Why didn't the idiot shut the motor off....

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1258043585.jpg

"Who's the U-Boat Commander?"

The tow...
 

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Tim

I'm with Sidney. Don't um, turn it off or anything. No. Whatever you do, don't turn off the car.

Just more proof that money is not an indicator of . . . . . . anything else.

What would we do without Youtube :D

I'm thinking some kind of insurance scam. Low flying pelican? Dropped cell phone? Can't turn back because you hit a muddy patch and you go straight into a lagoon? Either the guy is a complete airhead or he wanted to do it.

I vote for airhead.

I like how the tow guy rinses his hands off in a mud puddle then reaches in and grabs the steering wheel. Classic.

That sounds like the guy wanted the insurance money more than the car... let's find a shallow salt water place (read not dangerous) and just in case, let's kill the engine so it's a total write off..
Remember the appraised value is greater than the original list price.

LOL....nice submarine!

I'm betting on airhead.

Remember, he could have simply sold the car for more than he paid for it. You only commit insurance fraud when you are upside down on the car. You sell it when you are in the black.

Next time you're in the market for a Veyron, be sure and get a carfax, because you never know what sort of history a car like this might have.

Twitter is all a-twitter about the fact that the spoiler is up, and "they only go up when it's going 130mph!!". Does anyone know if they have a spoiler trigger switch like the 964 and up have?

I am guessing they do.

You need to look cool when going slow too.

Hmm... Surely there is a switch... There's a switch on the Corrado...


Doesn't the spoiler go back down automatically when it gets below a certain speed if it came up automatically?

The fact that the spoiler was up when the car stopped tells me that he probably threw the switch...

Presumably. Although, if the car has a dash switch that triggers it, and is sitting in...ya know, highly conductive salt water, it's quite possible that it fried and trigger the spoiler. Or, he hit it with his knee while desperately trying to not drown.

Or, the car tires are spinning at 136+ mph underwater during that video. That seems most likely to me.