A driver who managed to completely wreck his $704,000 (£563,692) classic supercar told cops it was due to the fact he was ‘unfamiliar’ with how to drive it. Quite the costly mistake.
Robert J. Guarini, from Boca Raton in Florida, recently became the proud owner of 2006 Heritage Edition Ford GT after snapping it up at an auction last month.
However, shortly after purchasing his new swish motor, Guarini smashed it into a tree - completely trashing the front of the vehicle.
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The 50-year-old told police he lost control while driving away from his housing development due to being ‘unfamiliar with how to drive stick shift’.
A police report about the incident states that after the crash, Guarini approached a nearby security worker and told him he didn’t have a phone so would have to return to his home to call the police, leaving the bashed up car unattended.
Although Guarini told officers it was his inexperience using gears that led to the mishap, he has since claimed that wasn’t the only problem.
Speaking to Road & Track, Guarini claimed ‘ old tires, muddy pavement, and a fresh detailing were all factors causing the 550-horsepower supercar to swing out and hit a tree’.
He added: “I don’t want people to think I was racing at 90 mph. I was going 35 mph.”
According to the report, Guarini was issued a citation for driving with a suspended licence and was given a warning for driving an unregistered vehicle.
However, Guarini told Road & Track his suspension was due to a ‘clerical error’.
An eyewitness named John Peddie managed to snap some shots of the crashed car, which he has since shared to Facebook, that show the severity of the crash.
Meanwhile, on this side of the Atlantic, a driver in Derby crashed their Ferrari just hours after buying it.
Derbyshire Roads Policing Unit tweeted earlier this month to show the damage sustained to the vehicle, while urging road users to ‘drive aware’.
The policing unit said of the crash "Derby. 1st April. Driver bought a Ferrari this morning and crashed it after driving it less than 2 miles. No injuries. #DriveToArrive."
As you can imagine, the post attracted plenty of attention from fellow Twitter users, with one person commenting: “Good to hear no injuries but maybe too much power for this driver.
Another said: “Hopefully it's a write off. People need to learn to buy that's appropriate for them. Expensive lesson.”
Claire Reid